Hebrew word · H1715

דָּגָן

dagan

grain

Grain, cereal: threshed wheat and barley, and so bread, the staple of life. It often appears in the set phrase "grain, new wine and fresh oil," which sums up the land's produce and the covenant blessing (Deut 7:13; 11:14; 28:51).

Appears 40 times in 40 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

wheat, cereal, grain, corn

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Ezekiel 36:29

Range of meaning

Grain, cereal: threshed wheat and barley, and so bread, the staple of life. It often appears in the set phrase "grain, new wine and fresh oil," which sums up the land's produce and the covenant blessing (Deut 7:13; 11:14; 28:51).

Against the English

KJV "corn" uses the older British sense, meaning any grain. Modern readers, especially Americans, picture maize, a New World crop unknown in the ancient Near East. All modern versions have "grain."

How it drifted

"Corn" once meant any cereal crop (compare "peppercorn," a small hard seed). In American English it narrowed to maize from colonial times on, so the KJV now gives a false picture.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint has sitos (wheat, grain), and the Vulgate has frumentum (grain). The same word appears in Ugaritic texts, and the West Semitic god Dagan/Dagon is sometimes linked with it, though whether the god's name really comes from "grain" is disputed.

From the study of Hosea 2:8

Range of meaning

Grain or cereal (wheat, barley), especially as harvested and threshed. Almost always paired with tirosh and yitshar in a fixed set of three meaning "the produce of the land".

Against the English

BSB, WEB and most modern versions have "grain". KJV has "corn", which in 1611 British English meant grain of any kind, but American readers today hear "maize", a New World crop unknown in ancient Israel.

How it drifted

"Corn" narrowed to mean maize in American English from the colonial period on.

Used elsewhere in the period

The set of three is the language of covenant blessing and curse: Deut 7:13 ("he will bless... your grain, your wine and your oil"); 11:14 (rain in its season so you gather your grain, wine and oil); 28:51; also Jer 31:12; Joel 1:10; 2:19. The same root appears as the name of the Semitic god Dagan (Dagon), linked with grain.

From the study of Isaiah 62:8

Range of meaning

Dagan means grain in general (wheat, barley), mainly as harvested and threshed produce. Tirosh means new wine: the season's freshly pressed wine or must (unfinished, early wine), counted as the yield of the vineyard. Together with yitshar (fresh oil), they make up the standard triad of the land's produce.

Against the English

KJV renders dagan as "corn", which in 1611 English meant any grain. Modern readers, especially Americans, picture maize, a New World crop unknown in ancient Israel. KJV renders tirosh simply as "wine". BSB, WEB and YLT have "new wine", which marks it as the year's fresh produce.

How it drifted

"Corn" narrowed in American English to mean maize after European contact with the Americas. In British English it still means grain generally. KJV's "meat" in the same verse has likewise narrowed from "food" in general to "flesh".

Used elsewhere in the period

The pair or triad of produce runs through covenant texts. As blessing: Deut 7:13; 11:14; 28:51 (where the curse is that the enemy "shall not leave you grain, new wine, or oil"); Hos 2:8, 22; Joel 2:19, 24. For tithes eaten at the sanctuary: Deut 12:17; 14:23. Hos 4:11 ("wine and new wine take away the understanding") shows that tirosh could make people drunk. Ugaritic trṯ is a related wine term.

Where it appears

Genesis · 2
  1. Genesis 27:28 דָּגָ֖ן grain

    May God give to you the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth—an abundance of grain and new wine.

    Here: Cereal crops, mainly wheat and barley: bread, the staple food. It is always grain in general, never maize (which KJV's 'corn' suggests to many readers today).

  2. Genesis 27:37 וְדָגָ֥ן and grain

    But Isaac answered Esau: “Look, I have made him your master and given him all his relatives as servants; I have sustained him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?”

Numbers · 2
  1. Numbers 18:12 וְדָגָ֑ן and grain

    I give you all the freshest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain that the Israelites give to the LORD as their firstfruits.

    Here: Cereal grain in general, the basic food of the land, and not wheat alone. It shares the single phrase "all the fat of" with the new wine.

  2. Numbers 18:27 כַּדָּגָן֙ like the grain

    Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress.

Deuteronomy · 7
  1. Deuteronomy 7:13 דְּגָ֨נְךָ֜ grain your

    He will love you and bless you and multiply you. He will bless the fruit of your womb and the produce of your land—your grain, new wine, and oil, the young of your herds and the lambs of your flocks—in the land that He swore to your fathers to give you.

    Here: "Your grain": cereal crops, mainly wheat and barley, the staple of bread. The same word was also the name of the grain god Dagan (Dagon), worshipped across Syria and Philistia.

  2. Deuteronomy 11:14 דְגָנֶ֔ךָ grain your

    then I will provide rain for your land in season, the autumn and spring rains, that you may gather your grain, new wine, and oil.

    Here: Cereal crops, mainly wheat and barley, harvested in spring and early summer. It was the staple food: bread.

  3. Deuteronomy 12:17 דְּגָֽנְךָ֙ grain your

    Within your gates you must not eat the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, the firstborn of your herds or flocks, any of the offerings that you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts.

  4. Deuteronomy 14:23 דְּגָֽנְךָ֙ grain your

    And you are to eat a tenth of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks, in the presence of the LORD your God at the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.

  5. Deuteronomy 18:4 דְּגָֽנְךָ֜ grain your

    You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the first wool sheared from your flock.

  6. Deuteronomy 28:51 דָּגָן֙ grain

    They will eat the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain or new wine or oil, no calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks, until they have caused you to perish.

  7. Deuteronomy 33:28 דָּגָ֣ן grain

    So Israel dwells securely; the fountain of Jacob lives untroubled in a land of grain and new wine, where even the heavens drip with dew.

    Here: Cereal crops, chiefly wheat and barley: the staple food. KJV's "corn" is the older British word for grain in general, not maize.

2 Kings · 1
  1. 2 Kings 18:32 דָּגָ֨ן grain

    until I come and take you away to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey—so that you may live and not die. But do not listen to Hezekiah, for he misleads you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’

2 Chronicles · 2
  1. 2 Chronicles 31:5 דָּגָ֗ן grain

    As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously provided the firstfruits of the grain, new wine, oil, and honey, and of all the produce of the field, and they brought in an abundance—a tithe of everything.

    Here: Cereal crops, chiefly wheat and barley, the basis of daily bread. It is the first of the three staples that the Law repeatedly lists together.

  2. 2 Chronicles 32:28 דָּגָ֖ן grain

    He also made storehouses for the harvest of grain and new wine and oil, stalls for all kinds of livestock, and pens for the flocks.

Nehemiah · 7
  1. Nehemiah 5:2 דָגָ֖ן grain

    Some were saying, “We and our sons and daughters are numerous. We must get grain in order to eat and stay alive.”

  2. Nehemiah 5:3 דָגָ֖ן grain

    Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our homes to get grain during the famine.”

  3. Nehemiah 5:10 וְדָגָ֑ן and grain

    I, as well as my brothers and my servants, have been lending the people money and grain. Please, let us stop this usury.

  4. Nehemiah 5:11 וְהַדָּגָן֙ and the grain

    Please restore to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses, along with the percentage of the money, grain, new wine, and oil that you have been assessing them.”

  5. Nehemiah 10:39 הַדָּגָן֮ <the> grain

    For the Israelites and the Levites are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are kept and where the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers stay. Thus we will not neglect the house of our God.”

  6. Nehemiah 13:5 הַדָּגָן֙ the grain

    and had prepared for Tobiah a large room where they had previously stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the temple articles, and the tithes of grain, new wine, and oil prescribed for the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, along with the contributions for the priests.

    Here: Threshed cereal grain, mainly wheat and barley. It is the first item of Deuteronomy's standard trio of produce: grain, new wine, oil.

  7. Nehemiah 13:12 הַדָּגָ֛ן the grain

    and all Judah brought a tenth of the grain, new wine, and oil into the storerooms.

Psalms · 3
  1. Psalm 4:7 דְּגָנָ֖ם <of> [when] grain their

    You have filled my heart with more joy than when grain and new wine abound.

    Here: "Their grain": wheat and barley, the staple food. "Their" points back to the "many" of v. 6 who are asking who will show them good.

  2. Psalm 65:9 דְּ֝גָנָ֗ם grain their

    You attend to the earth and water it; with abundance You enrich it. The streams of God are full of water, for You prepare our grain by providing for the earth.

    Here: 'Their grain': the cereal harvest of wheat and barley, the basic food. 'Their' most naturally means the earth's inhabitants, the people of verse 8.

  3. Psalm 78:24 וּדְגַן־ and [the] grain of

    He rained down manna for them to eat; He gave them grain from heaven.

    Here: "And the grain of …" Dagan is the ordinary staple grain of the land (wheat and barley), the first item in the familiar blessing list "grain, new wine and oil". Calling manna "grain" pictures it as a harvest God gave without anyone plowing or sowing.

Isaiah · 2
  1. Isaiah 36:17 דָּגָן֙ grain

    until I come and take you away to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

  2. Isaiah 62:8 דְּגָנֵ֨ךְ grain your

    The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by His mighty arm: “Never again will I give your grain to your enemies for food, nor will foreigners drink the new wine for which you have toiled.

    Here: "Your grain". The suffix is feminine singular: the "you" is Zion/Jerusalem pictured as a woman. Grain was the basic food that kept a household alive.

Jeremiah · 1
  1. Jeremiah 31:12 דָּגָן֙ grain

    They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD—the grain, new wine, and oil, and the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like a well-watered garden, and never again will they languish.

    Here: Cereal grain in general (wheat, barley), the staple of bread. The first item in Israel's standard harvest triad.

Lamentations · 1
  1. Lamentations 2:12 דָּגָ֣ן [are] grain

    They cry out to their mothers: “Where is the grain and wine?” as they faint like the wounded in the streets of the city, as their lives fade away in the arms of their mothers.

Ezekiel · 1
  1. Ezekiel 36:29 הַדָּגָן֙ the grain

    I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful, and I will not bring famine upon you.

    Here: Cereal crops, mainly wheat and barley, the bread supply of the land. It is one of the standard trio of farm blessings, "grain, new wine and oil."

Hosea · 6
  1. Hosea 2:8 הַדָּגָ֖ן the grain

    For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal.

    Here: "The grain": cereal crops, mainly wheat and barley, the staple food. It is the first item in a fixed set of three (grain, new wine, fresh oil) that summed up the land's harvest and the blessing God promised in the covenant.

  2. Hosea 2:9 דְגָנִי֙ grain my

    Therefore I will take back My grain in its time and My new wine in its season; I will take away My wool and linen, which were given to cover her nakedness.

  3. Hosea 2:22 הַדָּגָ֖ן the grain

    And the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine and oil, and they will respond to Jezreel.

  4. Hosea 7:14 דָּגָ֧ן grain

    They do not cry out to Me from their hearts when they wail upon their beds. They slash themselves for grain and new wine, but turn away from Me.

    Here: Cereal grain, the staple harvest. With new wine (and often oil) it stands for the whole yield of the land, which Hosea 2:8 says YHWH gave and Israel credited to Baal.

  5. Hosea 9:1 דָּגָֽן׃ grain

    Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation like the nations, for you have played the harlot against your God; you have made love for hire on every threshing floor.

    Here: Cereal grain (wheat, barley), the first item in the standard Israelite triad of the land's gifts, 'grain, new wine and oil', which Hosea 2:8 says came from YHWH, though Israel credited Baal.

  6. Hosea 14:7 דָגָ֖ן grain

    They will return and dwell in his shade; they will grow grain and blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.

Joel · 3
  1. Joel 1:10 דָּגָ֔ן [the] grain

    The field is ruined; the land mourns. For the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, and the oil fails.

    Here: The cereal crop as a whole, the bread supply of the household and the stuff of the grain offering (v. 9). First of Israel's three staple blessings.

  2. Joel 1:17 דָּגָֽן׃ [the] grain

    The seeds lie shriveled beneath the clods; the storehouses are in ruins; the granaries are broken down, for the grain has withered away.

  3. Joel 2:19 הַדָּגָן֙ <the> grain

    And the LORD answered His people: “Behold, I will send you grain, new wine, and oil, and by them you will be satisfied. I will never again make you a reproach among the nations.

    Here: "The grain." Cereal crops in general, mainly wheat and barley. It is the first of the three staple crops that 1:10 said had been destroyed.

Haggai · 1
  1. Haggai 1:11 הַדָּגָן֙ the grain

    I have summoned a drought on the fields and on the mountains, on the grain, new wine, and oil, and on whatever the ground yields, on man and beast, and on all the labor of your hands.”

    Here: Cereal grain, mainly wheat and barley, the staple for bread. It is the first of the three standard harvest goods of Israel.

Zechariah · 1
  1. Zechariah 9:17 דָּגָן֙ grain

    How lovely they will be, and how beautiful! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the young women.

    Here: Cereal grain (wheat, barley), the staple food. Paired with 'new wine', it is the stock phrase for the harvest blessing promised in the covenant (Deut 7:13; 11:14).

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.