Bible Dictionary
Garlic
Garlic was one of the foods remembered and desired by the Israelites in the wilderness after leaving Egypt. It was commonly cultivated and eaten in the ancient Near East.
Definition
Garlic is the bulb of Allium sativum, a strongly scented plant cultivated and eaten throughout the Orient. It was used as food, commonly cooked in stews, and was known for its penetrating odor.
Biblical Usage
Garlic is mentioned when the Israelites in the wilderness remembered and desired the foods they had eaten in Egypt.
Historical Background
The sources associate garlic with ancient Egypt and state that it was cultivated across the Orient. The plant was also used in popular protective practices against the evil eye and other malign influences.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Heb. shum, from its strong odour), mentioned only once (Num. 11:5). The garlic common in Eastern countries is the Allium sativum or Allium Ascalonicum, so called from its having been brought into Europe from Ascalon by the Crusaders. It is now known by the name of “shallot” or “eschalot.”
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(Numbers 11:5) is the Allium sativum of Linnaeus, which abounds in Egypt.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>gar'-lik (shum, used only in plural shumim; compare Arabic thum):</p><p>One of the delights of Egypt for which the Israelites in the Wilderness longed (Nu 11:5); we know from other sources that, though originally a product of Central Asia, garlic was known to the ancient Egyptians. It is the bulb of Allium sativum, Natural Order Liliaceae, and is cultivated all over the Orient. It is eaten cooked in stews; its disagreeable penetrating odor is in evidence in the houses and on the breath of most Orientals. A bulb of garlic, hung over a bed or over the door of a house, is a powerful charm against the evil eye and other malign influences.</p><p>E. W. G. Masterman</p>