Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
HUSKS, Luke 15:16. Undoubtedly the fruit of the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua), which is common in Palestine, and is used for food by the poor, and for the fattening of cattle or swine. When ripe it is like a crooked bean-pod, 6 to 10 inches in length, brown, glossy, and filled with seeds. Miss M. E, Rogers says: "I found it when new rather too sweet to suit my taste. Children seem to enjoy it, and they thrive on it, eating Husks. Fruit of the Carob Tree. ) the shell as well as the seeds.
The carob tree belongs to the same family as the American "locust," and is often called by that name by English authors. Some suppose that it was upon these "locusts" that John the Baptist subsisted. " But the better critics reject this opinion.
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