Husk

Husk in the King James Bible refers to two different Hebrew objects. In Numbers 6:4, the husk (zag) is the outer skin or husk of a grape, which Nazirites were forbidden to eat along with all other grape products during their vow. In 2 Kings 4:42, husk (ṣiqlōn) refers to a sack or bag used to carry grain, part of the firstfruits offering brought to Elisha by a man from Baal-shalishah.

The most memorable use of the concept in the New Testament, though not using the word husk, is the prodigal son's degradation to feeding pigs and longing to fill himself with the carob pods (keratia) the pigs ate—the nadir of his spiritual and material ruin. The outer husks or coverings of grain, grapes, and pods represented the margins and leavings of agricultural production—the portions eaten by animals or discarded by humans. Their use in contexts of extreme poverty or Nazirite renunciation illustrates how ordinary agricultural waste could carry significant moral or ritual significance in biblical narrative.