Word Study for H5692 (עֻגָּה)

ʻuggâh /oog-gaw'/ Ask about this word

Meaningan ash-cake (as round)

KJV usagecake (upon the hearth).

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of ʻuggâh — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

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.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a noun across 7 occurrences, inflected in 3 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

עֻגוֹת
עֻגָה
עֻגַת

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 7 verses across 6 of the 39 books. Most frequent in 1 Kings (2 verses); never once in the other 33.

Genesis

Exodus

Numbers

1 Kings

Ezekiel

Hosea

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.