Hebrew word · H6016

עֹ֫מֶר

'omer

sheaf

(1) A sheaf, meaning a bundle of reaped grain stalks lying in the field or bound for carrying (Deut 24:19; Ruth 2:7, 15; Job 24:10). (2) A dry measure, one tenth of an ephah, roughly 2 litres (Exod 16:16–36, the daily manna ration). Others treat them as one word with two senses.

Appears 14 times in 14 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

sheaf

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 Leviticus 23:10

Range of meaning

(1) A sheaf, meaning a bundle of reaped grain stalks lying in the field or bound for carrying (Deut 24:19; Ruth 2:7, 15; Job 24:10). (2) A dry measure, one tenth of an ephah, roughly 2 litres (Exod 16:16–36, the daily manna ration). Some lexicons split these into two words that sound the same (BDB, HALOT). Others treat them as one word with two senses.

Against the English

English versions say 'sheaf', which fits the field setting and the verb 'wave' in v.11. NLT's 'bundle of grain' gives the same picture. No common English version brings out the measure sense, though it shaped how the rite was actually carried out in the Second Temple period.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Septuagint has dragma ('handful, sheaf'). Philo (Special Laws 2.162–175) calls it a sheaf. Josephus (Antiquities 3.250–251) describes offering parched barley, ground and sifted, an assarōn ('tenth part') of flour, which is the measure sense. The Mishnah (Menahot 10) describes reaping barley at nightfall, parching and grinding it, and offering one omer of the flour. Rabbinic literature calls the whole rite 'the omer'.

From the study of Leviticus 23:11

Range of meaning

(1) A sheaf or bundle of cut grain stalks (Deuteronomy 24:19; Ruth 2:7, 15; Job 24:10). (2) A dry measure, one tenth of an ephah, roughly 2 liters (Exodus 16:16–36, the manna). The two may be separate words that sound alike or one word with two senses.

Against the English

English versions all say 'sheaf' here, following verse 10's harvest context. That is probably right, but it hides the second sense, which later Jewish practice used.

Used elsewhere in the period

The LXX uses δράγμα, 'a handful' or 'a sheaf'. Mishnah Menahot 10 describes cutting barley at night after the festival began, then roasting, grinding and sifting it into an omer measure of flour, which was waved and offered. The fifty days to Pentecost are still called 'the counting of the omer' (sefirat ha-omer).

From the study of Deuteronomy 24:19

Range of meaning

A sheaf: a bound bundle of cut grain stalks. A homonym of the same spelling is the dry measure 'omer' (Exod 16, the manna portion), a different word.

Against the English

'Sheaf' in all versions; accurate.

Used elsewhere in the period

The 'sheaf of firstfruits' waved before the LORD (Lev 23:10–15); Joseph's dream of sheaves (Gen 37:7, using a different word, ʾalummah); Ruth 2:7, 15 where Ruth gleans 'among the sheaves'.

Where it appears

Exodus · 6

  1. Exodus 16:16 עֹ֣מֶר an omer

    This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Each one is to gather as much as he needs. You may take an omer for each person in your tent.’”

  2. Exodus 16:18 בָעֹ֔מֶר by the omer

    When they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much had no excess, and he who gathered little had no shortfall. Each one gathered as much as he needed to eat.

    Here: "By the omer," with the article: the omer just prescribed in v.16 as the allowance per person. Verse 36 explains it as a tenth of an ephah, roughly two litres. It works as a ration unit, a daily portion for one person.

  3. Exodus 16:22 הָעֹ֖מֶר <the> omer[s]

    On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much food—two omers per person—and all the leaders of the congregation came and reported this to Moses.

  4. Exodus 16:32 הָעֹ֙מֶר֙ the omer

    Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Keep an omer of manna for the generations to come, so that they may see the bread I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”

  5. Exodus 16:33 הָעֹ֖מֶר the omer

    So Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar and fill it with an omer of manna. Then place it before the LORD to be preserved for the generations to come.”

  6. Exodus 16:36 וְהָעֹ֕מֶר and the omer

    (Now an omer is a tenth of an ephah.)

Leviticus · 4

  1. Leviticus 23:10 עֹ֛מֶר <the> sheaf of

    “Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘When you enter the land that I am giving you and you reap its harvest, you are to bring to the priest a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest.

    Here: A bundle of cut grain stalks. The same word is also a dry measure of about two litres (Exod 16:36), and later Jewish practice offered an omer-measure of flour. See the study below.

  2. Leviticus 23:11 הָעֹ֛מֶר the sheaf

    And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD so that it may be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.

    Here: 'The' sheaf: the one already named in verse 10, the first sheaf cut from the barley harvest. The same word can also mean a dry measure, about a tenth of an ephah (Exodus 16:36). Later Jewish practice used that measure of the first grain.

  3. Leviticus 23:12 הָעֹ֑מֶר the sheaf

    On the day you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a year-old lamb without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD,

    Here: 'The' sheaf, the one already introduced in vv. 10–11: the first of the barley harvest, brought to the priest before anyone could eat the new crop (v. 14).

  4. Leviticus 23:15 עֹ֖מֶר [the] sheaf of

    From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you are to count off seven full weeks.

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 24:19 עֹ֣מֶר a sheaf

    If you are harvesting in your field and forget a sheaf there, do not go back to get it. It is to be left for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

    Here: A bundle of cut grain stalks tied together, already reaped and bound. This is finished, gathered produce, not stray ears on the ground.

Ruth · 2

  1. Ruth 2:7 בָֽעֳמָרִ֔ים among the sheaves

    She has said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the harvesters.’ So she came out and has continued from morning until now, except that she rested a short time in the shelter.”

  2. Ruth 2:15 הָֽעֳמָרִ֛ים the sheaves

    When Ruth got up to glean, Boaz ordered his young men, “Even if she gathers among the sheaves, do not insult her.

Job · 1

  1. Job 24:10 עֹֽמֶר׃ a sheaf

    Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.

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