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(Hebrews kammon; i.e., a “condiment”), the fruit or seed of an umbelliferous plant, the Cuminum sativum, still extensively cultivated in the East. Its fruit is mentioned in Isaiah 28:25, 27. In the New Testament it is mentioned in Matthew 23:23, where our Lord pronounces a “woe” on the scribes and Pharisees, who were zealous in paying tithes of “mint and anise and cummin,” while they omitted the weightier matters of the law.” “It is used as a spice, both bruised, to mix with bread, and also boiled, in the various messes and stews which compose an Oriental banquet.” Tristram, Natural History.

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