Hebrew word · H4425

מְלִילָה

melilot

ear

An ear or head of grain. This is its only occurrence in the Hebrew Bible. HALOT and BDB connect it to a root meaning "to rub" or "to cut off", and later Hebrew uses related forms for ears of grain rubbed in the hand.

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

ear (of wheat), head (of wheat)

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 Deuteronomy 23:25

Range of meaning

An ear or head of grain. This is its only occurrence in the Hebrew Bible. HALOT and BDB connect it to a root meaning "to rub" or "to cut off", and later Hebrew uses related forms for ears of grain rubbed in the hand.

Against the English

"Ears" (KJV, WEB, ESV), "heads of grain" (BSB, NASB) and "kernels" (NIV) all describe the same thing. NIV's "kernels" points to what is actually eaten, but it hides the fact that the hand snaps off the whole head.

Used elsewhere in the period

Mishnaic Hebrew uses mlilot for ears of grain. Luke 6:1 describes the disciples "plucking the heads of grain and eating them, rubbing them in their hands", the very practice this word suggests. The Greek translation (LXX) renders it stachys, the same word the Gospels use (Matthew 12:1).

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 23:25 מְלִילֹ֖ת ears of corn

    When you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you must not put a sickle to your neighbor’s grain.

    Here: "Ears of grain": the seed-heads of wheat or barley. The word appears only here in the Hebrew Bible. Later Hebrew and Aramaic use related words for ears rubbed in the hand to free the kernels, which is exactly what the disciples do in Luke 6:1.

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