Bible Dictionary
CRACKNEL
A cracknel was probably a small, firm cake or biscuit with holes pricked into it. It was one of the foods Jeroboam’s wife was instructed to take when visiting the prophet Ahijah.
Definition
A cracknel was probably a small cake or firm biscuit marked or pierced with holes. The name is connected with a Hebrew word meaning to prick or mark.
Biblical Usage
Jeroboam instructed his wife to take cracknels, or cakes, when she went to inquire of the prophet Ahijah concerning their son.
Historical Background
The precise food is uncertain, but the word’s derivation most probably indicates cakes with holes pricked in them, like biscuits.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>krak'nel: Occurs in 1Ki 14:3, where Jeroboam bids his wife go to Abijah to inquire concerning their son: "And take with thee ten loaves and cracknels" (King James Version margins "cakes," the English Revised Version "cracknels," the American Standard Revised Version "cakes"). The Hebrew word is niqquddim, from naqadh, "to prick" or "mark"; most probably cakes with holes pricked in them like our biscuits.</p>