Abarim Publications' online Biblical Hebrew Dictionary
עוג
The root עוג ('ug) isn't used as verb in the Hebrew Bible but in cognate languages (Aramaic, Arabic) it is, and has the meaning of to circle or be curved and describes things like tortoise shells and elephant tusks. But we know that it existed in Hebrew because there are several derivations extant in the Hebrew Bible, which curiously all have to do with baked things.
As we explain in more detail in our article on the Greek word for bread, namely αρτος (artos), which literally means "exactly right" and implies a precise harmony of constituents, bread served in antiquity as a widely attested symbol for sustenance by technology and artistic synthesis. It's by no means a coincidence that Jesus (the embodiment of the Logos) was born in Bethlehem, or House of Bread. In our article on the name Og we suggest that these same ideas may have given rise to the concept of Oceanos or world-river in Greek.
The derivations of our root עוג ('ug) are:
- The feminine noun עגה ('uga), a cake or bread (Genesis 18:6, Exodus 12:39, Numbers 11:8, 1 Kings 17:13, Hosea 7:8).
- The denominative verb עוג ('ug), to bake a cake or bread (Ezekiel 4:12 only).
- The masculine noun מעוג (ma'ug), a place, thing or activity pertaining to cake or bread (Psalm 35:16 only).