Plants in the Bible
From the Catholic Encyclopedia
When Moses spoke to the people about the Land of Promise, he described it as a "land of hills and plains" (Deut, xi, 11), "a good land, of brooks and of waters, and of fountains: in the plains of which and the hills deep rivers break out: a land of wheat, and barley, and vineyards, wherein fig-trees and pomegranates, and oliveyards grow: a land of oil and honey" (Deut, viii, 7-8). This glowing description, sketched exclusively from an utilitarian point of view, was far from doing justice to the wonderful variety of the country's productions, to which severeal causes contributed. First the differences of elevation; for between Lebanon, 10,000 feet above sea level, and the shores of the Dead Sea, 1285 feet below the Mediterranean, every gradation of altitude is to be found, within less than 200 miles. Sinuous valleys furrow the highland, causing an incredible variation in topography; hence, cultivated land lies almost side by side with patches of desert. The soil is now of clay, now of clay mixed with lime, farther on of sand; the surface rock is soft limestone, and basalt. In addition to these factors, variations of climate consequent on change of altitude and geographical position cause forms of vegetation which elsewhere grow far apart to thrive side by side within the narrow limits of Palestine. The vegetation along the west coast, like that of Spain, southern Italy, Sicily, and Algeria, is composed of characteristic species of Mediterranean flora. Near the perennial snows of the northern peaks grow the familiar plants of Alpine and sub-Alpine regions; the highlands of Palestine and the eastern slopes of the northern ranges produce the Oriental vegetation of the steppes; whereas the peculiar climate conditions prevailing along the Ghôr and about the Dead Sea favour a sub-tropical flora, characterized by species resembling those which thrive in Nubia and Abyssinia.
Over 3000 species of Palestinian flora are known to exist, but the Holy Land of our day can give only an imperfect idea of what it was in Biblical times. The hill-country of Juda and the Negeb are, as formerly, the grazing lands of the Judean herds, yet groves, woods, and forest flourished everywhere, few traces of which remain. The cedar-forests of Lebanon had a world-wide reputation; the slopes of Hermon and the mountains of Galaad were covered with luxuriant pine woods; oak forests were the distinctive feature of Basan, throughout Ephraim clumps of terebinths dotted the land, while extensive palm groves were both the ornament and wealth of the Jordan Valley. The arable land, much of which now lies fallow, was all cultivated and amply rewarded the tiller. The husbandman derived from his orchards and vineyards abundant crops of olives, figs, pomegranates, and grapes. Nearly every Jewish peasant had his "garden of herbs", furnishing in season vegetables and fruits for the table, flowers, and medicinal plants. Only some 130 plants are mentioned in Scripture, which is not surprising since ordinary people are interested only in a few, whether ornamental or useful. The first attempt to classify this flora is in Gen., i, 11-12, where it is divided into: (1) deshe, signifying all low plants, e. g., cryptogamia; (2) 'esebh, including herbaceous plants; (3) 'es peri, embracing all trees. In the course of time, the curiosity of men was attracted by the riches of Palestinian vegetation; Solomon, in particular, is said to have treated about the trees (i. e., plants) from the lofty cedar "unto the hyssop that cometh out of the wall" (III Kings, iv, 33). Of the plants mentioned in the Bible, the most common varieties may be identified either with certainty or probability; but a large proportion of the biblical plant-names are generic rather than specific, e. g., briers, grass, nettles, etc.; and just what plants are meant in some cases is impossible to determine, e. g., algum, cockle, gall, etc. A complete alphabetical list of the plant-names found in the English Versions is here given, with an attempt at identification.
Acacia. See .
Acanth. See .
Josephus (Ant., VIII, vii, 1) says it was somewhat like the wood of the fig tree, but whiter and more glittering. According to most modern scholars and certain rabbis, the red sandal-wood, Pterocarpus santalina, is intended, though some of the uses made of it appear to require a stouter material. The identification proposed by Vulg. (see ) is much more satisfactory.
Almug. See .
Amomum (Apoc., xviii, 13, neither in the Greek New Testament, Vulg., A. V., nor D. V., but found in critical editions, such as Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, Nestle), a perfume well known in antiquity (Dioscor., i, 14; Theophr., "Hist. plant.", ix, 7; "De odor.", 32; etc.). The Assyrian variety was particularly prized (Virg., Eclog., iv, 25; Josephus, "Ant.", XX, ii, 3; Martial., "Epigr.", vii, 77; Ovid, "Heroid.", xxi, 166; etc.), and probably obtained from Cissus vitignea, a climbing plant native of India but found also in Armenia, Media, and Pontus (Pliny, "Nat. hist.", xii, 13).
Apple tree, Heb., thappuakh (cf. Arab, tiffah; Egypt. dapih, "apple") and the description of the tree and its fruit indicate the common apple tree, Malus communis, which is beautiful, affording shade for a tent or a house (Cant., ii, 3; viii, 5), and bears a sweet fruit, the aroma (Cant., vii, 8) of which is used in the East to revive a fainting person (cf. Cant., ii, 5). Apple groves flourished at an early date (Ramses II) in Egypt (Loret, "Flore pharaonique", p. 83); place-names like Tappuah (Jos., xii, 17) or Beth-tappuah (A. V., Jos., xv, 53) indicate that they were a distinct feature of certain districts of Palestine.
Arum. See Cockle.
Ash Tree. Is., xliv, 14 (A. V. for Heb., 'oren; D. V. "pine") depicts a planted tree, watered only by rain, whose wood is suitable to be carved into images and useful as fuel (Is., xliv, 15). Probably the tree intended is Pinus pinea, the maritime or stone pine, rather than the ash, as the various species of Fraxinus grow only in the mountains of Syria, outside Palestine.
Aspen. See .
); xxiv, 20b (Greek smúrna). The çori is described as coming from Galaad (Jer., viii, 22; xlvi, 11) and having medicinal properties (Jer., li, 8). It is obtained from Balsamodendron opobalsamum, Kunth., which is extant in tropical regions of east Africa and Arabia and yields the "balm of Mecca"; and Amyris gileadensis, a variety of the former, which gave the more extravagantly prized "balm of Judea", and is now extinct; it was extensively cultivated around the Lake of Tiberias, in the Jordan Valley, and on the shores of the Dead Sea (Talm. Babyl. Shabbath, 26a; Josephus, "Ant.", IX, i, 2; Jerome, "Quæst in Gen.", xiv, 7; Pliny, "Nat. hist.", xii, 25, etc.). The word çori is also applied to the gum from the mastic tree, or lentisk (Pistacia lentiscus, cf. Arab. daru), and that from Balanites ægyptica, Del., falsely styled "balm of Galaad". The meaning of pannag, mentioned in Ezech., xxvii, 17, is not known with certainty; modern commentators agree with R. V. (marginal gloss) that it is "a kind of confection".
Balsam, Aromatical. See .
Barley (Heb. se'orah, "hairy", an allusion to the length of the awns) was cultivated through the East as provender for horses and asses (III Kings, iv, 28), also as a staple food among the poor, working men, and the people at large in times of distress. The grain was either roasted (Lev., ii, 14; IV Kings, iv, 43) or milled, kneaded and cooked in ovens as bread or cake. Barley, being the commonest grain, was considered a type of worthless things, hence the contemptuous force of Ezech., xiii, 19; Judges, vii, 13; and Osee, iii, 2. Hordeum ithaburense, Boiss., grows wild in many districts of Palestine; cultivation has developed the two (H. distichum), four (H. tetrastichum), and six-rowed (H. hexastichum) barley. The harvest begins in April in the Ghôr, and continues later in higher altitudes; a sheaf of the new crop was offered in oblation on the "sabbath of the Passover".
Bay tree, so A. V. in Ps. xxxvii, 35; D. V. (xxxvi) "Cedar of Libanus", which renderings are erroneus. The correct meaning of the Heb. text is: "as a green tree", any kind of evergreen tree, "in its native soil".
Bdellium (Gen., ii, 12; Num., xi, 7), either a precious stone or the aromatic gum of Amyris agallochum, a small resinous tree of northern India, found also, according to Pliny, in Arabia, Media, and Babylonia.
Beans (II Kings, xvii, 28; Ezech., iv, 9), the horse-bean (Faba vulgaris; cf. Heb. pol and Arab. ful), an ordinary article of food, extensively cultivated in the East. The string-bean, Vigna sinensis, kidney-bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, and Phaseolus molliflorus, also grow in Palestine.
Blackthorn. See .
Blasting. See .
Boxthorn. See .
Box tree (Is., xli, 19; lx, 13; in D. V., Ezech., xxvii, 6, instead of "ivory and cabins", we should read: "ivory inlain in boxwood"), probably the Heb. the'ashshur. The box tree does not grow in Palestine, and indeed the Bible nowhere intimates this, but it mentions the box tree of Lebanon, Buxus longifolia, Boiss., and that imported from the islands of the Mediterranean.
. (4) Heb. shamir (Is., v, 6; ix, 18; x, 17; xxxii, 13), the flexible Paliurus aculeatus, Lam., Arab. samur, the supposed material of Christ's crown of thorns. (5) Heb. shqyth (Is., vii, 23-5), a word not found outside of Isaias, and possibly designating prickly bushes in general.
Broom. See .
Buckthorn. See .
Lake of Tiberias, Lake Huleh. (2) 'Agmon (A. V., Is., lviii, 5; D. V. "circle") is variously rendered (D. V. Is., xix, 15; Job, xl, 21). The plant whose flexibility is alluded to in Is., lviii, 5, A. V. appears to be either the common reed, Arundo donax, or some kind of rush; Juncus communis, J. maritimus, Lam., J. acutus are abundant in Palestine. (3) Suph (Is., xix, 6; A. V. "flag"; etc.), Egypt. tûf, probably designates the various kinds of rush and sea-weeds (Jon., ii, 6). Yam Suph is the Hebrew name for the Red Sea.
Burnet. See Thistle (5).
Bush, Burning, Heb. seneh, "thorny" (Ex., iii, 2-4; Deut., xxxiii, 16), probably a kind of whitethorn of goodly proportions (Cratægus sinaitica, Boiss.) common throughout the Sinaitic Peninsula. Arab. sanna is applied to all thorny shrubs.
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Cane, Sweet-smelling (Jer., vi, 20). See .
Caper, Heb. abiyyonah (D. V., Eccl., xii, 5), the fruit of the caper tree, probably Capparis spinosa; C. herbacea, and C. ægyptiaca are also found in Palestine.
Cedar, indiscriminately applied to Cedrus libani, C. bermudensis, Juniperus virginiana, and Cupressus thymoides, as Heb., 'erez was used for three different trees: (1) The cedar wood employed in certain ceremonies of purification (Lev., xiv, 4, 6; 49052; Num., xix, 6) was either Juniperus phœnicea, or J. oxycedrus, which pagans burned during sacrifices and at funeral piles (Hom., "Odyss.", v, 60; Ovid, "Fast.", ii, 538), and Pliny calls "little cedar" (Nat. Hist., XIII, i, 30). (2) The tree growing "by the waterside" (Num., xxiv, 6) appears from Ez., xxxi, 7, to be the Cedrus libani, which usually thrives on dry mountain slopes. (3) In most of the other passages of Holy Writ, Cedrus libani, Barr, is intended, which "prince of trees", by its height (Is., ii, 13; Ezech., xxxi, 3, 8; Am., ii, 9), appropriately figured the mighty Eastern empires (Ezech., xxxi, 3-18, etc.). From its trunk ship-masts (Ezech., xxvii, 5), pillars, beams, and boards for temples and palaces (III Kings, vi, 9; vii, 2) were made; its hard, close-grained wood, capable of receiving a high polish, was a suitable material for carved ornamentations (III Kings, vi, 18) and images (Is., xliv, 14-5). Cedar forests were a paradise of aromatic scent, owing to the fragrant resin exuding from every pore of the bark (Cant., iv, 11; Osee, xiv, 7); they were "the glory of Libanus" (Is., xxxv, 2; lx, 13), as well as a source of riches for their possessors (III Kings, v, 6 sqq.; I Par., xxii, 4) and an object of envy to the powerful monarchs of Nineveh (Is., xxxvii, 24; inscr. of several Assyrian kings).
Cedrat, Citrus medica, or C. cedra is, according to the Syriac and Arabic Bibles, the "Targum" of Onkelos, Josephus (Ant. III, x, 4) and the Talmud (Sukka, iii, 5), the hadar (D. V. "the fairest tree") spoken of in Lev., xxiii, 40, in reference to the feast of Tabernacles.
Centaurea. See .
Charlock. See .
Chestnut-tree. See .
Cinnamon, Heb., qinnamon (Ex., xxx, 23; Prov., vii, 17; Cant., iv, 14; Ecclus., xxiv, 20; Apoc., xviii, 13), the inner aromatic bark of Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Nees, an ingredient of the oil of unction and of the Kyphi.
Citron, Citrus limonum, supposed by some Rabbis to be intended in the text of Lev., xxiii, 40; "boughs of hadar", used regularly in the service of the synagogue and hardly distinguishable from cedrat.
Coriander seed (Ex., xvi, 31; Num., xi, 7), the fruit of Coriandrum sativum, allied to aniseed and caraway.
Corn, a general word for cereals in English Bibles, like dagan in Heb. Wheat, barley, spelt (fitches), vetch, millet, pulse; rye and oats are neither mentioned in Scripture nor cultivated in the Holy Land.
Corn, Winter, Heb. kussemeth (D. V., Ex., ix, 32; A. V. "rye"), rendered "spelt" in Is., xxviii, 25, yet the close resemblance of Arab. kirsanah with Heb. suggests a leguminous plant, Vicia ervilia.
Cotton, Heb. or Persian karpas, Gossypium herbaceum, translated "green". Probably the shesh of Egypt and the buç of Syria (Ezech., xxvii, 7, 16, "fine linen") were also cotton.
Cucumber, Heb. qishshu'im (Num., xi, 5; Is., i, 8), evidently the species Cucumis chate (cf. Arab. qiththa), indigenous in Egypt; C. sativus is also extensively cultivated in Palestine.
Cummin, Heb. kammon, Arab. kammun, the seed of Cuminum cyminum (Is., xxviii, 25, 27; Matt., xxiii, 23).
Cypress, in D. V., Cant., i, 16 (A. V., 17) a poor translation of Heb. 'eç shemen (see ); elsewhere Heb. berosh is rendered "fir tree"; in Ecclus., xxiv, 17, the original word is not known. Among the identifications proposed for beroth are Pinus halapensis, Miel., and Cupressus sempervirens, the latter more probable.
Cyprus (Cant., i, 13; iv, 13). See .
Darnel, bearded. See (2).
Dill (R. V., Matt., xxiii, 23). See .
Ear of corn translates three Heb. words: (1) shibboleth, the ripe ear ready for harvest; (2) melilah, the ears that one may pluck to rub in the hands, and eat the grains (Deut., xxiii, 25; Matt., xii, 1; Mark, ii, 23; Luke, vi, 1); (3) abib, the green and tender ear of corn.
Ebony. Heb. hobnim, Arab. ebmus (Ezech., xxvii, 15), the black heart wood of Diospyros ebenum, and allied species of the same genus, imported from coasts of Indian Ocean by merchantmen of Tyre.
Elecampane. See (6).
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Figs (Heb. te'ênim), the fruit of the fig tree (Heb. te'ênah), Ficus carica, growing spontaneously and cultivated throughout the Holy Land. The fruit buds, which appear at the time of the "latter rains" (spring), are called "green figs" (Cant., ii, 13; Heb. pag, cf. Beth-phage), which, "late in spring" (Matt., xxiv, 32), ripen under the overshadowing leaves, hence Mark, xi, 13, and the parable of the barren fig tree (Matt., xxi, 19, 21; Mark, xi, 20-6; Luke, xiii, 6-9). Precociously ripening figs (Heb. bikkurah) are particularly relished; the ordinary ripe fruit is eaten fresh or dried in compressed cakes (Heb. debelah: I Kings, xxv, 18, etc.). Orientals still regard figs as the best poultice (IV Kings, xx, 7; Is., xxxviii, 21; St. Jerome, "In Isaiam", xxxviii, 21, in P. L., XXIV, 396).
Fir, applied to all coniferous trees except the cedar, but should be restricted to the genera Abies and Picea, meant by Heb. siakh (Gen., xxi, 15; D. V. "trees"; cf. Arab., shukh). Among these, Abies cilicia, Kotsch, and Picea orientalis are found in the Lebanon, Amanus and northward.
Flax, Heb. pistah (Ex., ix, 31; Deut., xxii, 11; "linen"; Prov., xxxi, 13), Linum usitatissimum, very early cultivated in Egypt and Palestine.
Forest translates five Heb. words: (1) Ya'ar, forest proper; (2) horesh, "wooded height"; (3) çebak, a clump of trees; (4) 'abhim, thicket; (5) pardeç, orchard. Among the numerous forests mentioned in the Bible are: Forest of Ephraim, which, in the Canaanite period, extended from Bethel to Bethsan; that between Bethel and the Jordan (IV Kings, ii, 24); Forest of Hareth, on the western slopes of the Judean hills; Forest of Aialon, west of Bethoron; Forests of Kiriath Yearim; the forest where Joatham built castles and towers (II Par., xxvii, 4) in the mountains of Juda; that at the edge of the Judean desert near Ziph (I Kings, xxiii, 15); Forest of the South (Ezech., xx, 46, 47); and those of Basan (Is., ii, 13) and Ephraim (II Kings, xviii, 6). Lebanon, Carmel, Hermon were also covered with luxuriant forests.
Frankincense (Heb. lebonah) should not be confounded with incense (Heb. qetorah), which confusion has been made in several passages of the English Bibles, e. g., Is., xliii, 23; lx, 6 (A. V.); Jer., vi, 20. Incense was a mixture of frankincense and other spices (Ex., xxx, 34-5). Arabian frankincense, the frankincense par excellence, is the aromatical resin of Boswellia sacra, a tree which grows in southern Arabia (Arab. luban); B. papyrifera of Abyssinia yields African frankincense, which is also good.
Fuller's herb (Mal., iii, 2). See ,.
Galbanum, Heb. khelbenah (Ex., xxx, 34; Ecclus., xxiv, 21), a gum produced by Ferula galbaniflua, Boiss. and other umbelliferous plants of the same genus. Its odour is pungent, and it was probably used in the composition of incense to drive away insects from the sanctuary.
Garlic, Allium sativum, Heb. shum (cf. Arab. thum), a favourite article of food in the East. The species most commonly cultivated is the shallot, Allium ascalonicum.
Goose-weed. See .
Gopher wood (Gen., vi, 14; D. V. "timber planks"), a tree suitable for shipbuilding: cypress, cedar, and other resinous trees have been proposed, but interpreters remain at variance.
Grape, wild. See .
Grape. See .
Grape, Wild. See .
); xl, 15; Matt., vi, 30; etc.
Grove, English rendering of two Hebrew words: (1) asherah, a sacred pole or raised stone in a temple enclosure, which "groves" do not concern us here; (2) 'eshel, probably the tamarisk tree (q. v.; cf. Arab. 'athl), but translated "groves" in Gen., xxi, 33, and rendered elsewhere by "wood", as in I Kings, xxxi, 6; xxxi, 13.
Hay, Heb. hasas (Prov., xxvii, 25), a dried herb for cattle. "Stubble" in Is., v, 24; xxxiii, 11, also translates hasas.
Hazel. See .
Heath, Heb. 'ar' ar' aro'er (A. V., Jer., xvii, 6; xlviii, 6; D. V. "tamaric", "heath"), a green bush bearing red or pink blossoms, and native of the Cape of Good Hope. The only species in Palestine is the Erica verticillata, Forskal. The E. multiflora is abundant in the Mediterranean region.
Hemlock, Heb. rosh (A. V., Hosea, x, 4; Amos, vi, 12; D. V. "bitterness"; 13, "wormwood"), an umbelliferous plant from which the poisonous alkaloid, conia, is derived. Conium maculatum and Æthusa cynapium are found in Syria. The water- hemlock is found only in colder zones. See .
Henna. See .
Herb. See .
Herbs, Bitter, Heb. meorim (Exod., xii, 8; Num., ix, 11; D. V. "wild lettuce"), comprise diverse plants of the family of Compositæ, which were eaten with the paschal lamb. Five species are known: wild lettuce, Heb. hazeret; endive, ulsin; chicory, tamka; harhabina and maror, whose translation is variously rendered a kind of millet or beet, and the bitter coriander or horehound.
Holm (Dan., xiii, 58; Is., xliv, 14; A. V. "cypress") probably Heb. tirzah, a kind of evergreen-oak.
Husks. See .
Hyssop, Heb. 'ezob, Arab, zufa, an aromatic herb forming a dward bush. The Hysoppus officinalis, Linné (Exod., xii, 22; Lev., xiv, 4, 6, 49, 51-2; Num., xix, 6; Ps., 1, 9; Heb., ix, 19), was used in aspersion. In III Kings, iv, 33, hyssop is a species of moss (Orthotricum saxatile; Pottia trunculata) spoken of in contrast to the grandeur of the cedar. The "hyssop" mentioned in John, xiv, 29, is written "reed" in Matt., xxvii, 48, and Mark, xv, 36.
Ivy (Jon., iv, 6-10; see ), the Hedera helix, (II Mach., vi, 78), which grows wild in Palestine.
Knapweed. See .
Leeks, Heb. khaçir (Num., xi, 5), also rendered "grass", a vegetable, Allium porrum.
Lentils, Heb. 'adashim (Gen., xxv, 34; II Kings, xvii, 28; Ezech., iv, 9), Arab. adas, Ervum lens, or Lens esculenta, Moench., an important article of diet.
Lentisk. See , .
Lign aloes. See .
Lily. (1) Heb. shushan, Arab. susan, a generical term applicable to many widely different flowers, not only of the order Liliaceæ, but of Iridaceæ, Amaryllidaceæ, and others. Lilium candidum is cultivated everywhere; Gladiolus illyricus, Koch, G. septum, Gawl, G. atroviolaceus, Boiss., are indigenous in the Holy Land; Iris sari, Schott, I. palestina, Baker, I. lorteti, Barb., I. helenæ, are likewise abundant in pastures and swampy places. (2) The "lilies of the field" surpassing Solomon in glory were lilylike plants; needless to suppose that any others, e. g. the windflower of Palestine, were intended.
Lily of the valleys, Heb. khabbaççeleth. See .
Locust tree. See .
Lotus. (1) A water plant of the order Nymphæaceæ, the white species of which, Nymphæa lotus, was called in Egyptian seshni, sushin, like the Heb. shushan, which may have been applied to water-lilies, but the lotus was probably intended in III Kings, vii, 19, 22, 26, 49. (2) A tree, Heb. çe 'elim (A. V. Job, xl, 21, 22; D. V., 16, 17: "shadow", "shades"), Zizyphus lotus, very common in Africa on the river banks.
a mistranslation in A. V., Job, xxx, 4, for the orache or sea-purslain, Atriplex halimus, from Heb. malluakh, derived from melakh, "salt", as halimus from 'áls. According to Galen, the extremities are edible; the Talmud tells us that the Jews working in the re-construction of the Temple (520-15 B. C.) ate it (Kiddushim, iii, fol. 66a).
Mandrake, from Heb., dud', meaning "love plant", which Orientals believe ensures conception. All interpreters hold Mandragora officinarum to be the plant intended in Gen., xxx, 14, and Cant., vii, 13.
Manna of commerce is a sugary secretion of various Oriental plants, Tamarix mannifera, Ehr., Alhaqi camelorum, Fish., Cotoneaster nummularia, Fraxinus ornus, and F. rotundifolia; it has none of the qualifications attributed to the manna of Ex., xvi.
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Meadow, A. V., Gen., xli, 2, 18 (D. V. "marshy places"), for Heb. akhu. See Flag; Sedge-bush.
Meadow saffron. See .
Melon, Heb. 'abhattikhim (Num., xi, 5), like Arab. bottikh, old Egypt. buttuga, seems to have a generic connotation, yet it designated primarily the watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris, Shrad.), and secondarily other melons. The passage of Numbers refers only to the melons of Egypt, and there is no mention in the Bible of melons of Palestine, yet they were in old times cultivated as extensively as now.
Millet, Heb. dokhan (Ezech., iv, 9), Arab. dokhn, is applied to Panicum miliaceum, and Setaria italica, Kth. The rendering "millet", in D. V., Is., xxviii, 25, is not justified, as Heb. nisman, found here, means "put in its place".
Our Lord compares the kingdom of God to a mustard seed (Matt., xiii, 31-2), a familiar term to mean the tiniest thing possible (cf. Talmud Jerus. Peah, 7; T. Babyl. Kethub., iiib), "which a man … sowed in his field" and which "when it is grown up, it is greater than all herbs"; the mustard tree attains in Palestine a height of ten feet and is a favourite resort of linnets and finches.
Myrrh translates two Heb. words: (1) mor (cf. Arab. morr), the aromatic resin produced by Balsamodendron myrrha, Nees, which grows in Arabia and subtropical east Africa, was extensively used among the ancients, not only as a perfume (Ex., xxx, 23; Ps. xliv, 9; Prov., vii, 17; Cant., i, 12; v, 5), but also for embalming (John, xix, 39) and as an anodyne (Mark, xv, 23; (2) lot, see .
Myrtle, Heb. hadas (Is., xli, 19; lv, 13; Zach., i, 8, 10, 11), Myrtus communis, Arab. hadas, an evergreen shrub especially prized for its fragrant leaves, and found in great abundance in certain districts of Palestine. Its height is usually three to four feet, attaining to eight feet in moist soil, and a variety cultivated in Damascus reaches up ten to twelve feet; hence an erroneous translation in almost all the above Scriptural passages.
Nard, pistic (R. V. margin, Mark, xiv, 3). See .
; (2) qimmosh, qimmeshonim (Prov., xxiv, 31; A. V. "thorns"; Is., xxxiv, 13; Osee, ix, 6): correctly rendered "nettles" (Urtica urens, U. dioica, U. pilulifera, U. membranacea, Poir.), which are found everywhere on neglected patches, whilst the deserts abound with Forskahlea tenacissima, a plant akin to the Urtica.
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Olive tree, Olea europæa, one of the most characteristic trees of the Mediterranean region, and universally cultivated in the Holy Land. Scriptural allusions to it are very numerous, and the ruins of oil-presses manifest the extensive use of its enormous produce: olives, the husbandman's only relish; oil which serves as food, medicine, unguent, and fuel for lamps; finally candles and soap. The olive tree was considerred the symbol of fruitfulness, blessing, and happiness, the emblem of peace and prosperity.
Olive, Wild (Rom., xi, 17, 24), not the oleaster, Elæagnus angustifolia, common throughout Palestine, but the seedling of the olive, on which the Olea europæa is grafted.
Onion, Heb. beçalim (Num., xi, 5), Allium cepa, universally cultivated and forming an important and favourite article of diet in the East.
Orache. See .
Palm tree, Heb. thamar (Ex., xv, 27), tomer (Judges, iv, 5), Phœnix dactylifera, the date palm. The palm tree flourishes now only in the maritime plain, but the Jordan Valley, Engaddi, Mount Olivet, and many other localities were renowned in antiquity for their palm groves. In fact, the abundance of palm trees in certain places suggested their names: Phœnicia (from Greek phoîniks), Engaddi, formerly named Hazazon Thamar, i. e. "Palm grove", Jericho, surnamed "the City of Palm trees", Bethany, "the house of dates", are among the best known. Dates are a staple article of food among the Bedouins; unlike figs, they are not dried into compressed cakes, but separately; date wine was known throughout the East and is still made in a few places; date honey (Heb. debash; cf. Arab. dibs) has always been one of the favourite sweetmeats of the Orientals. There are many allusions in Scripture to palm trees, which are also prominent in architectural ornamentation (Heb. timmorah, III Kings, vi, 29).
Paper reed, Heb. aroth (A. V., Is., xix, 7) prefereably rendered "the channel of the river" (D. V.), as the allusion seems to be to the meadows on the banks of the Nile.
Pear tree. See .
Pen, in Ps. xliv, 2 (A. V., xlv, 1); Jer., viii, 8, is probably the stalk of Arundo donax, which the ancients used for writing, as do also the modern Orientals.
Pennyroyal. See .
Peppermint. See .
Pine tree translates the Heb. words: (1) 'oren (Is., xliv, 14; A. V. "ash", possibly Pinus pinea; (2) thidhar (Is., lx, 13; Is., xli, 19; D. V. "elm"), the (q. v.) rather than pine.
Pomegranate, the fruit of Punica granatum, a great favourite in the Orient, and very plentiful in Palestine, hence the many allusions to it in the Bible. Pomegranates were frequently taken as a model of ornamentation; several places of the Holy Land were named after the tree (Heb., rimmon): Rimmon, Geth-Remmon, En-Rimmon, etc.
Poppy. See .
Pulse renders two Heb. words: (1) qali occurs twice in II Kings, xvii, 28, and is translated by "parched corn" and "pulse"; the allusion is to cereals, the seeds of peas, beans, lentils, and the like, which, in the East, are roasted in the oven or toasted over the fire; (2) zero'im, zero'nim (Dan., i, 12, 16) refer to no special plants, but possibly to all edible summer vegetables.
Reed, a general word translating several Heb. names of plants: 'agmon, gome, sûph (see ) and qaneh (see ).
Rest-harrow. See .
Rock-rose. See .
Rose. (1) Heb. khabbaççeleth (A. V., Song of Sol. ii, 1; IS., xxxv, 1) is probably the narcissus (see ). (2) Wis., ii, 8, seems to indicate the ordinary rose, though roses were known in Egypt only at the epoch of the Ptolemies. (3) The rose plant mentioned in Ecclus., xxiv, 18; xxxix, 17, is rather the oleander, Nerium oleander, very abundant around Jericho, where it is doubtful whether roses ever flourished except in gardens, although seven different species of the genus Rosa grow in Palestine.
Rue (Luke, xi, 42), probably Ruta chalepensis, slightly different from R. graveolens, the officinal one. St. Luke implies that Pharisees regarded the rue as subject to tithe, although it was not mentioned in the Law among tithable things (Lev., xxvii, 30; Num., xviii, 21; Deut., xiv, 22). This opinion of some overstrict Rabbis did not prevail in the course of time, and the Talmud (Shebiith, ix, 1) distinctly excepts the rue from tithe.
Rush (Job, viii, 11). See .
Saffron, Heb. karkom (Cant., iv, 14), cf. Arab. kurkum, a fragrant plant, Crocus sativus, grown in the East and in Europe for seasoning dishes, bread, etc.
Sandal-wood. See .
Sea-purslain. See .
Sedge, Heb. suph (D. V., Ex., ii, 3), a generic name for rush. See .
.
Sloe. See .
Smut. See .
Soap. See .
Sodom, Vine of (Deut., xxxii, 32). See .
Spear-mint. See .
Spelt, A. V. and R. V. for kussemeth (Ezech., iv, 9). See . R. V. for qeçakh (Ex., ix, 32; Is., xxviii, 25). See .
Spices translates three Heb. words: (1) sammum, a generic word including galbanum onycha, the operculum of a strombus, and stacte; (2) basam, another generic term under which come myrrh, cinnamon, sweet cane, and cassia; (3) noko 'oth, possibly the same substance as Arab. noka'ath. See .
Spices, Aromatical (IV Kings, xx, 13; Is., xxxix, 2), a mistranslation for "precious things". See .
), and with myrrh in drops or tears; (2) ahaloth (D. V., Ps. xliv, 9; A. V., xlv, 8: (q. v.); (3) lot (Gen., xxxvii, 25; xliii, 11), see ; (4) qiddah (Ezech., xxvii, 19), see .
Storax. (1) Gen., xliii, 11: see ; (2) Ecclus., xxiv, 21: see ; (1).
Sweet cane. See .
Sycamine (A. V., Luke, xvii, 6; D. V. "mulberry tree"). As St. Luke distinguishes sukáminos (here) from sukomoréa (xix, 4), they probably differ; sukaminos is admitted by scholars to be the black mulberry, Morus nigra.
Sycamore or Sycomore, Heb. shiqmim or shiqmoth (III Kings, x, 27; Ps. lxxviii, 47, D. V., lxxvii, 47, "mulberry"; Is., ix, 10; A. V. Amos, vii, 14), not the tree commonly called by that name, Acer pseudo-platanus, but Ficus sycomorus, formerly more plentiful in Palestine.
Teil tree (A. V., Is., vi, 13), a mistranslation of Heb. 'elah, which is probably the terebinth.
); it grows in dry localities of south and eastern Palestine where the oak cannot thrive. The turpentine, different from that of the pine trees, is a kind of pleasant-smelling oil, obtained by making incisions in the bark, and is widely used in the East to flavour wine, sweet-meats, etc.
; (2) dardar, Arab. shaukat ed-dardar, possibly Centaureas, star-thistles and knapweeds; (3) khedeq, see ; (4) khoakh (see ), a plant, which grows amidst ruins (Is., xxiv, 13), in fallow-lands (Osee, ix, 6), with lilies (Cant., ii, 2), and in fallow fields where it is harmful to corn (Job, xxxi, 40), all which features suit well the various kinds of thistles (Carduus pycnocephalus, C. argentatus, Circium lanceolatum, C. arvense, Attractilis comosa, Carthamus oxyacantha, Scolymus maculatus), most abundant in Palestine; (5) sirim, the various star-thistles, or perhaps the thorny burnet, plentiful in ruins; (6) sirpal, from the Greek rendering, probably the elecampane, Inula viscosa, common on the hills of the Holy Land; (7) qimmeshonim, see ; (8) shayith and (9) shamir, see .
Thorns, used in the English Bibles to designate plants like thistles, also includes thorny plants, such as (1) 'atal, see ; (2) mesukah, the general name given to a hedge of any kind of thorny shrubs; (3) na'açuç, see ; (4) sillôn (cf. Arab. sula), some kind of strong thorns; (5) sarabhim, tangled thorns forming thickets impossible to clear; (6) çinnim, an unidentified thorny plant; (7) qoç, a generic word for thorny bushes; (8) sikkim (cf. Arab. shauk), also a generic name.
.
Turpentine tree. See .
Vetches (D. V., Is., xxviii, 25). See .
.
Vine of Sodom (Deut., xxxii, 32), possibly the well known shrub, "Apple of Sodom", Calotropis procera, Willd., which peculiar plant grows round the Dead Sea and produces a fruit of the size of an apple, and "fair to behold", which bursts when touched and contains only white silky tifts and small seeds, "dust and ashes" (Josephus).
Walnut. See .
Water-mint. See .
Wheat, from Heb. bar and dagan, also translated "corn" and applicable to all cereals, is properly in Heb. khittah (cf. Arab. khintah), of which two varieties are especially cultivated in Palestine: Triticum æstivum, summer wheat, and T. hybernum, winter wheat; the harvest takes place from May (Ghôr) to June (highlands). Corn is threshed by cattle or pressed out with a sledge, and winnowed with a shovel, by throwing the grain against the wind on threshing floors upon breezy hills.
Wheel (Ps. lxxxii, 14) probably refers to some kind of Centaurea, as does "whirlwind" (Is., xvii, 13).
Wormwood, Heb. la'anah (Apoc., viii, 11), plants of the genus Artemisia, several species of which (A. monosperma, Del., A. herba-alba, Asso., A. judaica, A. annua, A. arborescens) are common in Palestine, notably on tablelands and in deserts. The characteristic bitterness of the Artemisias, coupled with their usual dreariness of habitat, aptly typified for Eastern minds calamity, injustice, and the evil results of sin.
BALFOUR, The Plants of the Bible (London, 1885); BONAVIA, The Flora of the Assyrian Monuments and its Outcomes (Westminster, 1894); DUNS, Biblical Natural Science, being the expl. of all references in Holy Scripture to geology, botany, etc. (London, 1863-5);GROSER, The Trees and Plants mentioned in the Bible (London, 1895); HOOKER AND TRISTRAM, Plants of the Bible, with the chief allusions collected and explained in Aids to the Student of the Holy Bible (London); KNIGHT, Bible Plants and Animals (London, 1889); POST, Flora of Syria, Palestine and Sinai, from the Taurus to the Ras Muhammad, and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Syrian desert (Beirut, 1896); SMITH, Bible Plants, their history, with a review of the opinions of various writers regarding their identification (London, 1878); TRISTRAM, The Natural History of the Bible (London, 1889); IDEM, The Fauna and Flora of Palestine (London, 1884); ZELLER, Wild Flowers of the Holy Land (London, 1876); BOISSIER, Flora Orientalis (Bale and Geneva, 1867-88); CELSIUS, Hierobotanicon, sive de plantis Sacræ Scripturæ dissertationes breves (Upsala, 1745- 7); FORSKAL, Flora Ægyptico- Arabica (Copenhagen, 1776); HILLER, Hierophyticon, sive Commentarius in loca Scripturæ Sacræ quæ plantarum faciunt mentionem (Treves, 1725); LEMNIUS, Similitudinum ac parabolarum, quæ in Bibliis ex herbis desumuntur, dilucida explicatio (Frankfort, 1626); LINNE, Flora Palestinæ (Upsala, 1756); URSINUS, Arboretum biblicum (Nuremberg, 1699); IDEM, Arboreti biblici continuatio (Nuremberg, 1699); CULTRERA, Botanique biblique (Geneva, 1861); FILLION, Atlas d'histoire naturelle de la Bible (Paris, 1884); GANDOGER, Plantes de Judée in Bulletin de la Societé botanique de France, XXXIII, XXXV, XXXVI (Paris); IDEM, articles on several plants in VIGOUROUX, Dictionnaire de la Bible (Paris, 1895-); HAMILTON, La botanique de la Bible (Nice, 1871); LEVESQUE, articles on various plants in VIG., Dict. Bibl.; LORET, La flore pharaonique, d'après les documents hiéroglyphiques et les spécimens découverts dans les tombes (Paris, 1892); FONCK, Strifzüge durch die Biblische Flora (Freiburg, 1900); KINZLER, Biblische Naturgesch. (Calw and Stuttgart, 1884); LÖW, Aramäische Pflanzennamen (Leipzig, 1881); ORDMANN, Vermischte Sammlungen aus der Naturkunde zur Erklärung der Heiligen Schrift (Leipzig, 1786-95); ROSENMÜLLER, Handbuch der Biblischlen Altertumskunde, IV, 1; Biblische Naturgesch. (Leipzig, 1830); WOENIG, Die Pflanzen im alten Ægypten (Leipzig, 1886); CULTRERA, Flora Biblica, ovvero spiegazione della plante menzionate nella Sacra Scrittura (Palermo, 1861).
CHARLES L. SOUVAY.