Dove's dung

Dove's dung is named as a commodity (possibly a food) whose price had escalated during a famine in Samaria reported in 2 Kings 6:25, when the city was besieged by the Syrian (Aram-Damascus) armies. The narrative describes how, during the siege of Samaria by Syrian king Ben-Hadad, a quarter of a kab of 'dove's dung' was sold for five shekels of silver. At the same time, a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver.

There has been considerable debate about what these words actually refer to. English Bible translations have varied, with the King James Version and the English Standard Version retaining the phrase 'dove's dung', whereas the New International Version reads 'seed pods' and the New Jerusalem Bible 'wild onions'.[1]

The Geneva Bible suggests that the dung was used as a fuel for fire.[2][3] Jewish historian Josephus suggested that dove's dung could have been used as a salt substitute.[4] An alternative view is that 'dove's dung' was a popular name for some other food, such as Star-of-Bethlehem [5] or falafel.[4] A third option, based on amending the Hebrew text, is that the passage actually refers to locust-beans, the fruit of the carob tree.[6]

References
  1. Eerdman's Dictionary of the Bible. Amsterdam University Press. 2000. p. 355.
  2. Footnote at 2 Kings 6:25: "The Hebrews write, that they burned it in the siege for lack of wood".
  3. Carlin, Martha (1998). Food and Eating in Medieval Europe. Continuum. pp. 80–81.
  4. Nelson, Richard Donald (1987). First and Second Kings. p. 188.
  5. Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. Courier Dover Publications. 1996. p. 133.
  6. Robinson, Joseph (1976). The Second Book of Kings. Cambridge University Press. pp. 65–66.
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