Cummin

Cummin (Hebrew kammon, meaning condiment) is the seed of Cuminum cyminum, an umbelliferous annual plant cultivated throughout the ancient Near East for its aromatic seeds used to flavor bread, soups, and meat. Isaiah 28:25–27 provides an agriculturally precise description of its cultivation and harvest: the farmer threshes cummin with a rod rather than a heavy sledge because the delicate seeds would be crushed — an illustration of God's wisdom in measuring appropriate judgment to the situation. The passage is one of the most detailed accounts of ancient farming practice in the prophetic literature.

In Matthew 23:23 Jesus rebukes the scribes and Pharisees for tithing mint, anise, and cummin while neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness — noting that the latter ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. The mention of tithing such small seeds as cummin indicates how scrupulously the Pharisees applied Mosaic law to every agricultural product, even the tiniest. Jesus's point is not that cummin-tithing was wrong but that meticulous attention to small ritual observances must not crowd out the weightier matters of the law.