Cumin
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(Isa. 28:25–27; Matt. 23:23)—an aromatic seed cultivated for seasoning and other uses. Isaiah observes that cumin is sown and threshed with methods suited to its delicate seed rather than crushed beneath a heavy cart. Jesus rebuked scribes and Pharisees who tithed mint, dill, and cumin while neglecting the weightier matters of the law—judgment, mercy, and faith. The precise plants behind some ancient spice names vary among translations, but the moral force of the passages is clear.