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BITTER HERBS
Some kind of bitter vegetable(s), perhaps a certain variety of lettuce. The people of Israel were commanded to eat bitter herbs, roast lamb, and unleavened bread on the night when the Lord inflicted the plague of death on all the Egyptian firstborn (Ex 12:8-11).
See also Plants.
The Significance of Bitter Herbs
The significance of the bitter herbs is not explained in the Exodus narrative. In the traditional interpretation, the herbs symbolize the bitterness of the Hebrews’ experience of Egyptian bondage. The two other references to bitter herbs (Nm 9:11; Lam 3:15) shed no direct light upon the kind of plant or its significance. The Numbers passage specifies how the Passover commemoration was to be celebrated by persons unable to participate at the normally appointed time (Nm 9:6-12). The Lamentations passage describes the prophet Jeremiah’s personal affliction. He pictures himself as suffering at the hands of the Lord who has filled him with bitterness. If the prophet’s experience could be symbolized by reference to bitter herbs, it is reasonable that Israel’s experience of slavery in Egypt might also have been symbolized in that way. After that night of the Hebrews’ deliverance from bondage, the herbs were used annually in a commemorative observance of the Passover.
Today the Samaritans use the leaves of the wild lettuce plant as bitter herbs for their Passover observance. Jews of European origin customarily use red horseradish.