Encyclopedia entry
Bitter Herbs
The Israelites were commanded to eat the Paschal lamb “with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs.” (Exodus 12:8) These “bitter herbs” consisted of such plants as chicory, bitter cresses, hawkweeds, sow-thistles and wild lettuces, which grow abundantly in the peninsula of Sinai, in Palestine and in Egypt. The purpose of this observance was to recall to the minds of the Israelites their deliverance from the bitter bondage of the Egyptians.
In the Bible
2
Verses where Bitter Herbs is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- Exodus 12:8
They are to eat the meat that night, roasted over the fire, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
- Numbers 9:11
Such people are to observe it at twilight on the fourteenth day of the second month. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs;
Sources · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.