Hebrew word · H7039

קָלִי

kali

roasted

Parched or roasted grain: ears or kernels of barley or wheat held over a fire, or roasted on a griddle, until dry and crunchy. It was eaten as it was or carried as travel food.

Appears 6 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) parched grain, roasted grain

1a) a common food

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 1 Samuel 17:17

Range of meaning

Parched or roasted grain: ears or kernels of barley or wheat held over a fire, or roasted on a griddle, until dry and crunchy. It was eaten as it was or carried as travel food.

Against the English

Modern versions say 'roasted grain' or 'parched grain,' which is accurate. The KJV says 'parched corn.' In 1611 English, 'corn' meant any grain. Today, especially in North America, it means maize, a New World crop unknown in ancient Israel.

How it drifted

In English, 'corn' narrowed in some regions from 'grain in general' to 'maize' after maize reached Europe and America.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lev 23:14, where Israelites may not eat bread, roasted grain or fresh grain before the firstfruits offering. Ruth 2:14, where Boaz hands Ruth roasted grain at the harvest meal. 1 Sam 25:18, where Abigail brings five seahs of roasted grain to David's men. 2 Sam 17:28, where supporters bring roasted grain to David's men in flight. It is the typical food of harvest workers, travellers and fighting men.

From the study of 1 Samuel 25:18

Range of meaning

Roasted or parched grain: ears or kernels of barley or wheat toasted over a fire and eaten as they are. It was a basic food of harvesters, travellers and soldiers.

Against the English

KJV 'parched corn' and YLT 'roasted corn' use 'corn' in its old British sense of any grain. American readers hear maize, which was unknown in the ancient Near East.

How it drifted

'Corn' narrowed to mean maize in American English after maize arrived from the Americas. In 1611 English it meant grain in general.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ruth 2:14 (Boaz gives Ruth roasted grain at the harvest meal), 1 Sam 17:17 (Jesse sends an ephah of roasted grain to David's brothers in the army camp), 2 Sam 17:28 (supplies brought to David fleeing Absalom), and Lev 23:14 (new roasted grain not to be eaten before the firstfruits offering).

Where it appears

Leviticus · 1

  1. Leviticus 23:14 וְקָלִ֨י and roasted grain

    You must not eat any bread or roasted or new grain until the very day you have brought this offering to your God. This is to be a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live.

Ruth · 1

  1. Ruth 2:14 קָלִ֔י roasted grain

    At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here; have some bread and dip it into the vinegar sauce.” So she sat down beside the harvesters, and he offered her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left over.

1 Samuel · 2

  1. 1 Samuel 17:17 הַקָּלִיא֙ <the> roasted grain

    One day Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp.

    Here: Grain kernels roasted over a fire. They keep well and can be eaten without further cooking, which makes them ideal field food for soldiers.

  2. 1 Samuel 25:18 קָלִ֔י roasted grain

    Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five butchered sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys

    Here: Grain (barley or wheat) parched over a fire. It was a staple field and travel food that could be eaten without cooking (Ruth 2:14; 1 Sam 17:17).

2 Samuel · 2

  1. 2 Samuel 17:28 וְקָלִ֑י וְקָלִֽי׃ and roasted grain

    They brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, as well as wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils,

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