CHATZIR (-ovn), Or CHAZIR, also CHAJIR.
This word occurs in several places in the 0. T., where it is variously translated, as grass, in I Kings xviii. 5 ; 2 Kings xix. 26 ; Job xl. 15 ; Ps. xxxvii. 2, etc. ; herb, in Job viii. 12 ; hay, in Prov. xxvii. 25, and Is. xv. 6 ; and court, in Is. xxxiv. 13 : but in Num. xi. 5, it is translated leeks. Hebrew scholars state that the word signifies greens' or grass' in general ; and it is no doubt clear, from the context of most of the above passages, that this must be its meaning. There is therefore no reason why it should not be so translated in all the passages where it occurs, except in the last. It is evidently incorrect to translate it hay, as in the above pas sages of Proverbs and Isaiah, because the people of Eastern countries, as it has been observed, do not make hay. The author of Fragments, in con tinuation of Calmet, has justly remarked on the incorrectness of our version, The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and the herbs of the mountains are gathered' (Prov. xxvii. 25) : —` Now certainly,' says he, if the tender grass is but just beginning to shew itself, the hay, which is grass cut and dried after it has arrived at maturity, ought by no means to be associated with it ; still less ought it to be placed before it.' The author continues, The word, I apprehend, means the first shoots, the rising, just budding spires of grass.' So in Is. xv. 6.
In the passage of Num. xi. 5, where the Israel ites in the desert long for the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick' of Egypt, it is evident that it was not grass which they desired for food, but some green, perhaps grass-like vege table, for which the word chatzir is used, and which is above translated leeks. In the same way that, in this country, the word greens is applied to a variety of cabbage, in India subzee, from subs green' is used as a general term for herbs cooked as kitchen vegetables. It is more than probable,
therefore, that chatzir is here similarly employed, though this does not prove that leeks are intended. Ludolphus, as quoted by Celsius (Hierobot.ii. 264), supposes that it may mean lettuce, or salads in general, and others that the succory or endive may be the true plant. But Rosenmiiller states, ' The most ancient Greek and the Chaldee translators unanimously interpret the Hebrew by the Greek rpdo-a, or leeks' The name, moreover, seems to have been specially applied to leeks from the re semblance of their leaves to grass, and from their being conspicuous for their green colour. This is evident from minerals even having been named from rpdcrop on account of their colour, as prasius, prasites, and chrysoprasium. The Arabs use the word kooras, or koorath, as the translation of the rpclaov of the Greeks, and with them it nifies the leeks, both at the present day and in their older works. It is curious that of the different kinds described, one is called koaras-al-bukl, or leek used as a vegetable. That the leek is esteemed in Egypt we have the testimony of Has selquist, who says, that the kind called karrat by the Arabs must certainly have been one of those desired by the children of Israel ; as it has been cultivated and esteemed from the earliest times to the present time in Egypt.' So the Roman satirist (Juv. xv. 9)— Porrum et cepe nefas violare et frangere morsu. 0 sanctas gentes, quibus hive nascuntur in hortis Numina The Romans employed it much as a seasoning to their dishes, as is evident from the number of recipes in Apicius referred to by Celsius. The leek (Allium Porrum) was introduced into this country about the year 1562, and, as is well known, continues to be esteemed as a seasoning to soups and stews.—J. F. R.