Dove's dung
Dove's dung is named as a commodity whose price had escalated during a famine in Samaria reported in 2 Kings 6:25, when the city was besieged by the Syrian armies. The narrative describes how, during the siege of Samaria by Syrian king Ben-Hadad, a quarter of a kab of 'dove's dung' was sold for five shekels of silver. At the same time, a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver.
There has been considerable debate about what these words actually refer to. English Bible translations have varied, with the King James Version and the English Standard Version retaining the phrase 'dove's dung', whereas the New International Version reads 'seed pods' and the New Jerusalem Bible 'wild onions'.
The Geneva Bible suggests that the dung was used as a fuel for fire. Jewish historian Josephus suggested that dove's dung could have been used as a salt substitute. An alternative view is that 'dove's dung' was a popular name for some other food, such as Star-of-Bethlehem or falafel. A third option, based on amending the Hebrew text, is that the passage actually refers to locust-beans, the fruit of the carob tree.
