Bitter Herbs

William Smith's Bible Dictionary

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.

Related Words

Bitter
·vt To make bitter. II. Bitter ·noun AA turn of the cable which is round the bitts. III. Bitter ·v...

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
Bitter
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Easton's Bible Dictionary
bitter
Any turn of a cable about the bitts is called a bitter. Hence a ship is "brought up to a bitter" whe...

The Sailor's Word-Book
Bitter spar
·- A common name of dolomite; — so called because it contains magnesia, the soluble salts of which ...

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
bitter-leaf
n. a Tasmanian name for the Native Hop. See hops and hop-bush. ...

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
bitter cold
Very cold. This common colloquial expression is used alike in England and America. Those who say it...

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
bitter-bump
A north-country name for the bittern. ...

The Sailor's Word-Book
bitter-end
That part of the cable which is abaft the bitts, and therefore within board when the ship rides at a...

The Sailor's Word-Book