International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)

prov’-en-der

(1) micpo’, from obsolete capha’, "to feed," fodder for cattle in general (Ge 24:25,32; 42:27; Jud 19:19,21);

(2) belil, from balal, "to mix": "Loweth the ox over his fodder?" (Job 6:5); belil chamits: "The young asses that till the ground shall eat savory (Hebrew "salted") provender" (Isa 30:24); this is fodder mixed with salt or aromatic herbs): The ordinary provender in Palestine, besides fresh pasturage, is tibn, i.e. straw broken on the threshing floor, kursenneh (Vetch, Vicia errilia), given especially to camels and milch cows; bran, for fattening and especially in cold weather; and, occasionally, hay made from the dried mixed grass and herbs which spring up luxuriously after the rains. The Circassian colonists East of the Jordan are teaching their neighbors the value of this food, so long neglected.

E. W. G. Masterman