FITCHES. 1. qetsach ( Isaiah 28:25; Isaiah 28:27 ), RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ‘black cummin,’ the seeds of the aromatic herb Nigella sativa , commonly used to-day in Palestine as a condiment, especially on the top of loaves of bread. The contrast between the staff for the ‘fitches’ and the rod for the cummin is the more instructive when the great similarity of the two seeds is noticed. 2. kussemeth , Ezekiel 4:9 , in AVm [Note: Authorized Version margin.] and RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘spelt,’ and in Exodus 9:32 , Isaiah 28:25 AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘rie’ and RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘spelt.’ Spelt ( Triticum spelta ) is an inferior kind of wheat, the grains of which are peculiarly adherent to the sheath.
E. W. G. Masterman.