### Core Meaning & Semantic Range
The Hebrew word **ʻuggâh**, represented by `{{H5692}}`, refers to an **ash-cake**, a simple, round cake often baked on the hearth. Derived from the root word for baking round cakes, `ʻûwg` `{{H5746}}`, it appears **7 times** in **7 unique verses**. This term describes a basic form of bread, significant in contexts of hospitality, divine provision, and prophetic symbolism.
### Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis
In biblical narratives, `{{H5692}}` is used to describe a food prepared in various circumstances. In an act of hospitality, Abraham instructs Sarah to quickly **knead** meal and make **cakes** for his guests [[Genesis 18:6]]. In a moment of desperation and faith, Elijah asks the widow of Zarephath to make him a little **cake** first from her last bit of meal [[1 Kings 17:13]]. The term is also used for the unleavened **cakes** the Israelites made in haste as they fled Egypt [[Exodus 12:39]]. In a figurative sense, the prophet Hosea describes Ephraim as a "**cake** not turned," symbolizing a people who had mixed with other nations and were spiritually incomplete [[Hosea 7:8]].
### Related Words & Concepts
Several related words are associated with the preparation of an `{{H5692}}` cake:
* `{{H5746}}` **ʻûwg** (to bake): This primitive root is the source of `ʻuggâh` and specifically means to bake round cakes. It is used in the command to Ezekiel to **bake** barley cakes as a prophetic sign [[Ezekiel 4:12]].
* `{{H3888}}` **lûwsh** (to knead): This word describes the essential step of preparing the dough. Sarah was instructed to **knead** the fine meal before making the cakes [[Genesis 18:6]].
* `{{H1217}}` **bâtsêq** (dough): This term refers to the unbaked dough from which cakes are made. The Israelites baked their cakes from the **dough** they brought out of Egypt, which had no time to be leavened [[Exodus 12:39]].
* `{{H7058}}` **qemach** (flour, meal): This is the primary ingredient. The cakes Abraham ordered were to be made from fine **meal** [[Genesis 18:6]].
### Theological Significance
The theological weight of `{{H5692}}` is seen in its symbolic applications.
* **Divine Provision:** A **cake** baken on the coals appears miraculously to feed and strengthen the prophet Elijah in the wilderness, provided directly for his journey [[1 Kings 19:6]]. Similarly, the manna God provided for Israel was prepared into **cakes** [[Numbers 11:8]].
* **Prophetic Judgment:** The image of a "**cake** not turned" serves as a powerful metaphor for the kingdom of Ephraim's failed spiritual state, being half-baked and compromised by foreign influences [[Hosea 7:8]].
* **A Sign of Defilement:** Ezekiel is commanded to eat barley **cakes** baked over human dung as a shocking sign of how the people of Israel would eat defiled bread in exile [[Ezekiel 4:12]].
* **Urgency of Redemption:** The unleavened **cakes** baked during the Exodus signify the speed of God's deliverance, an event so sudden there was no time for preparation or leavening [[Exodus 12:39]].
### Summary
In summary, `{{H5692}}` moves beyond its simple definition of an ash-cake to become a significant object in scripture. While it often represents a staple of sustenance and hospitality, it is also employed as a potent symbol in prophetic literature. It illustrates divine provision in times of need, the urgency of God's redemptive acts, and the dire consequences of spiritual unfaithfulness.
TRV