What Are Herbs?
From Biblical Health & Healing Part Two
Food, Medicine & Natural Resources
As I studied The Original Diet given to all life in Genesis Chapter One, there were three words that stood out to me as words that are often misinterpreted and misunderstood. The first being the word “herb”.
“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” Genesis 1:11 KJV
Food
Most people associate the word herb to just mean spices or medicinal plants. Technically, spices and medicinal plants are herbs. However, herbs are not just limited to spices and medicinal plants. According to the Bible, all green plants and trees are “herbs”. This means that all plant and tree produce that we know as vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, beans, and nuts are all actually seed bearing herbs. We see proof of this when we take a closer look at Genesis 1:29. The word “meat” actually just means food. Another words, God gave us seed bearing plants for food. The New King James Version as well as other translations, makes this distinction.
“And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.” Genesis 1:29 NKJV
The Topical Encyclopedia defines the word herb this way:
“In the Bible, herbs are frequently mentioned as part of the natural world created by God, serving various purposes such as food, medicine, and offerings. The term "herb" in biblical times generally referred to any plant used for culinary or medicinal purposes, including vegetables and aromatic plants.”
The word “Herb” simply just means “plant” or green vegetation. Various Bible translations aside from the King James Version, replace the word herb with plant. Here is one example:
And God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”Genesis 1:29 KJV
“And God said, Behold, I have given you every plant bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, which has seed in its fruit; to you it shall be for food.” Genesis 1:29 KJV 2000
Medicine
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Revelation 22:2 KJV
“Let Food be thy Medicine and Medicine be thy Food” - Hippocrates
In the Bible, leaves are often mentioned in various contexts, symbolizing life, healing, and the passage of time. They appear in both literal and metaphorical senses, contributing to the rich tapestry of biblical imagery.”- The Topical encyclopedia
“And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.” Ezekiel 47:12 KJV
In addition to the leaves, plant foods are extremely nutritious. They were designed to strengthen our immune systems and keep our bodies functioning properly. Other parts of many herbs such as the sap, bark, flowers and roots are edible and contain powerful medicinal properties capable of treating, managing and healing a wide range of health issues in both humans and animals.
We can personally testify to the healing power of herbs. In our home, we regularly consume many kinds of herbs in various forms for overall health and medicinal purposes. So much so, that we have not used manmade medications in over a decade.
Natural Resources
Throughout the entire Bible, from beginning to end, Seed Bearing Herbs and Trees are a common theme holding both spiritual and physical significance. Aside from providing food and medicine for humans, animals and insects, seed bearing Herbs and Trees serve humanity in a number of resourceful ways such as; filtering the air, generating oxygen to help us breathe and producing various kinds of medicines, oils, milks, juices, fibers, dyes, esthetics, scents, and wood, etc. This is by no means an exhaustive list of all of the amazing uses of seed bearing plants. I’m sure I am just scratching the surface here!
In our modernized understanding of manmade fabrics, dyes, scents, foods and medicines, we have lost much of our dependency and understanding of all of the amazing natural resources that seed bearing Herbs provide. However, man’s synthetic versions pale in comparison to the superior quality of our Creator’s provisions of Natural Resources.
Herbs and Trees glorify our Creator’s handiwork and hi-light His creativity and thoughtfulness towards all life. He designed seed bearing Herbs and Trees to provide us with everything we could possibly ever need!