Dill
DILL (ἄνηθον, G464). Matthew 23:23 says: “Ye pay tithe of mint and anise.” The word anēthon is undoubtedly “dill.”
This herb is used in Great Britain as a salad, but in Scandinavia it is used as the flavoring for new boiled potatoes. It is often put into jars of pickles.
The plant is found growing wild in Israel, or in modern gardens as a cultivated plant. The seeds are aromatic, and can be used for flavoring bread and cakes.
Dill is Anethum graveolens and looks like parsley when growing. It is a member of the same family. Moffatt, Weymouth and Goodspeed tr. the word anēthon as “dill.” Its Lat. name confirms this tr.
It is an oriental plant—far more so, in fact, than anise, which, though seen now in the Holy Land, was not grown there in the time of our Lord. Further, the Gr. word is anēthon (dill).
Dill is considered by some to be the correct tr. of fitches (q.v.) in Isaiah 28:25, but there seems to be no foundation for this.
Our Lord accused the Pharisees of rigorously tithing the dill, but ignoring the more important acts of obedience (Matt 23:23).
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)
an’-is, or dil; (RVm, anethon): Not the true anise, Pimpinella anisum, as was supposed by the King James Version translators, but Dill, Anethum graveolens. This is an annual or biennial herb of NO Umbelliferae, growing from one to three feet high, with small yellow flowers and brownish, flattened, oval fruits 1/5 inch long. It grows wild in lands bordering on the Mediterranean. The seeds have an aromatic flavor and are used as condiment in cooking, as carminative in medicine. "Dill water" is a favorite domestic remedy. Jesus said (Mt 23:23): "Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law," etc. In the tract, Ma`aseroth (4 5) it is mentioned that this plant (Hebrew shabhath), its stem, leaves and seed, was subject to tithe. See Cut.