נִקֻּד
𐤍𐤒𐤃
niqqud
H5350 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A small round piece of bread, typically baked hard; a biscuit or cake of bread, commonly used as food for travelers due to its firmness and shelf life. By extension, can refer to small, spotted, or punctured baked goods.
Semantic Range
hard biscuit, cracknel, small round cake, pricked/punctured baked good, small bread portion
Root / Etymology
From the root נקד, which primarily means 'to be spotted, speckled.' נִקֻּד (niqqud) is a noun formation that likely denotes a 'spotted' or 'punctured' object, transitioning in meaning to a small piece of bread that is pricked, punctured, or otherwise marked, usually for baking purposes.
Historical & Contextual Notes
נִקֻּד occurs in 1 Kings 14:3, where it describes food sent to Ahijah the prophet—often rendered as 'cracknels' or 'biscuits.' Its use points to travel food: durable, dry baked goods (cf. modern hardtack). The term's association with 'being pricked' likely derives from either marking or puncturing the dough prior to baking, both for texture and preservation. Although later Hebrew uses pointed or pricked marks and the term niqqud develops a different sense in the Masoretic system (diacritical marks), the biblical use is culinary. English translations sometimes use 'cracknels,' 'cakes,' or 'biscuits,' but these terms may not capture the spot/punctured nuance; 'biscuit' or 'hard cake' is closest to the historical reality. Contrast with לחם (bread) and עגה (round cake). Only attested in a post-monarchic narrative reflecting earlier Israelite practices; not a common term in biblical literature.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from the same as נָקֹד; a crumb (as broken to spots); also a biscuit (as pricked); cracknel, mouldy.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
נקד (n-q-d) — to be spotted, to mark, to puncture
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H4719 | מַקֵּדָה | in Makkedah |
| H5348 | נָקֹד | the spot-marked ones |
| H5349 | נֹקֵד | flock-marker |
| H5351 | נְקֻדָּה | spots of |
| H5353 | נְקוֹדָא | Marked-One |
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5350-01 |
נִקֻּדִֽים | niqudim | HNcmpa |
moldy | pricked biscuits | 2 |
H5350-02 |
וְ/נִקֻּדִ֛ים | veniqudim | HC/Ncmpa |
cakes | punctured biscuits | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
3 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5350-01 |
Joshua 9:5 | נִקֻּדִֽים | niqudim | HNcmpa |
moldy | pricked biscuits |
H5350-01 |
Joshua 9:12 | נִקֻּדִֽים | niqudim | HNcmpa |
moldy | pricked biscuits |
H5350-02 |
1 Kings 14:3 | וְ/נִקֻּדִ֛ים | veniqudim | HC/Ncmpa |
cakes | punctured biscuits |