Dictionaries :: Millet

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Millet:

(Heb. dohan; only in Eze 4:9), a small grain, the produce of the Panicum miliaceum of botanists. It is universally cultivated in the East as one of the smaller corn-grasses. This seed is the cenchros of the Greeks. It is called in India warree, and by the Arabs dukhan, and is extensively used for food, being often mixed with other grain. In this country it is only used for feeding birds.

International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia

Millet:

mil'-et, mil'-it (dochan; kegchros): One of the ingredients of the prophet's bread (Eze 4:9). The Arabic equivalent is dukhn, the common millet, Panicum miliaceum, an annual grass 3 or 4 ft. high with a much-branched nodding panicle. Its seeds arc as small as mustard seeds and are used largely for feeding small birds, but are sometimes ground to flour and mixed with other cereals for making bread. The Italian millet, setaria Italica, known as Bengal grass, is also called in Arabic dukhn, and has a similar seed. A somewhat similar grain, much more widely cultivated as a summer crop, is the Indian millet-also called "Egyptian maize"-the Sorghum annuum. This is known as dhurah in Arabic, and the seed as dhurah beida, "white dourra." It is a very important crop, as it, like the common millet, grows and matures without any rain. It is an important breadstuff among the poor.

Both the common millet and the dourra were cultivated in Egypt in very ancient times; the Hebrew dochan was certainly the first, but may include all three varieties.

Written by E. W. G. Masterman

King James Dictionary

Millet: A Grain Used for Breads and Cereals.

Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and MILLET, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof. (Ezekiel 4:9)

Nave's Topical Bible

Millet: General Scriptures Concerning

Eze 4:9

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Millet:

a kind of grain. A number of species are cultivated in the East. When green it is used as fodder, and for bread when ripe (Ezekiel 4:9). It is probable that both the Sorghum vulgare and that Panicum miliaceum were used, and the Hebrew dochan may denote either of these plants.