Lands, plants, and measures

Trees and Plants, Fruit and Flowers

Blackwood’s Comprehensive Aids to the Study of the Bible · Vol. I, pp. 52–53

Begins on Vol. I, p. 52

And Spices of Bible Lands.

Trees, Etc.	Descriptive and General Remarks
Algum, Almug	Imported by Solomon to make columns, balustrades, etc., of the Temple, from Ophir; supposed to have been the red Sandal-wood tree, the wood of which is very heavy, hard, fine-grained and of a beautiful garnet color, or it may have been the white Sandal-wood, which is still much used in India for utensils and fine work.
Almond	This superb tree has ever been a favorite, on account not only of its beauty, but equally so of its early blooming; its beautiful rose-pink blossoms are harbingers of spring.
Aloes, or Lign-aloes	A tree or plant from which was obtained a valuable sweet-scented wood, as, also, a delightful, pungent, aromatic gum prized for perfuming rooms and clothing, and for anointing the dead. The Aloe of Palestine reaches a height of scarce five feet, while the East Indian Aloe frequently attains an altitude of one hundred and twenty feet and girth of twelve feet.
Anise	Marginal rendering "Dill," probably correct; this was a small plant of little pecuniary value, though both the plant and seeds were used as a carminative and as a condiment.
Apple	As the Apple is little known in Palestine, the Quince or the Citron may have been intended; evidently, a large tree and a fruit of rich color, fine flavor and fragrant odor.
Ash	This may have been the Ash, though many learned critics have held otherwise; the larger number are in favor of the opinion that a species of Pine was intended.
Barley	The Barley of Palestine is our common grain of same name.
Bay	A symbol of a prosperous career. Possibly a Laurel or a Cedar, but more probably the Oleander, called the Rose-bay, is the tree meant.
Bean	Still a common article of food in the East; the kinds most used are the White Horse-bean and the Kidney-bean.
Box	Thought by some to have been a species of Cedar, but it may with equal probability have been the Box tree, as rendered.
Bramble	This bush has been identified by Hasselquist and others as the Blackberry.
Brier	This variety of the Wild rose seems to have been indigenous to the soil of Palestine; the Hebrew word signifies "brier" and "scorpion."
Bulrush, Rush	"Bulrush" and "Rush" are used interchangeably in our version; in some places the Egyptian Papyrus is intended, in others the common marsh Rush.
Calamus, Sweet Cane	An ingredient of the holy anointing oil, also mentioned as a perfume; supposed to have been imported from India; the root, stem and flowers, when bruised, are very fragrant.
Camphire	No doubt this was the Henna of the Arabs, a shrub rising five or six feet, with fragrant whitish flowers in clusters. The powdered leaves were used as a dye for the finger-nails, etc.
Cassia	One of the ingredients of the holy anointing oil; the plant resembles Cinnamon, though scarcely so fine or fragrant; the rind or bark was used as a perfume.
Cedar	At one time cedar trees were very abundant in Palestine, especially in the Lebanon region; its great height, straightness and the hardness and durability of its wood made it very valuable for building.
Chestnut	The Plane tree has been considered by many as the tree meant. A native of Western Asia, it has taken kindly to the soil and climate of Europe and America.
Cinnamon	One of the ingredients of the holy anointing oil; the tree was the same that now bears the name, and the inner rind was used as now.
Cockle	An Oriental weed, smaller but of more brilliant flower than the cockle of this country; the plural of the same Hebrew word is rendered "wild-grapes" in Isa. v., and hence some have claimed that it meant noxious weeds in general.
Coriander	Generally admitted to be the same plant as bears the name now in the East; it is chewed by all classes for the pleasant flavor it imparts to the breath; it is also used to flavor food.
Cucumber	The well-known plant that is still extensively cultivated in all parts.
Cummin	This plant was similar to the Coriander, and probably the same as that now known as Fennel or Caraway. In time its seeds make an excellent styptic.
Cypress	Some have maintained that the tree so named in our version was the Ilex, a species of Oak, but it is more likely it was the ordinary Evergreen Cypress.
Date	See Palm.
Dill	See Anise

Continues on Vol. I, p. 53

Trees, Etc.	Descriptive and General Remarks
Dove's Dung	Bochart pronounces this Chick-peas, while Dr. Thomson says it was a coarse kind of Bean.
Fig	This well-known tree abounded in Palestine, the Mount of Olives being especially noted for its luxuriant growth.
Fir	The Hebrew word would apply to any tree that could be cut into boards, planks, etc.; doubtless certain species of Pine and Juniper were meant, possibly the Larch or Cypress.
Fitch, Vetch	A small pea, though coarse and scarcely palatable, still an article of food, yet chiefly cultivated as food for doves and pigeons.
Flags	Two Hebrew words rendered thus; the first was probably a name for any marsh-weed; the other word no doubt included sea-weeds in general.
Flax	This was the common Flax, and was used, as now, for manufacturing linen.
Galbanum	A plant from which exudes a resinous gum resembling Assafœtida in smell and medicinal properties: an ingredient of the holy anointing oil.
Gall	The Hebrew word rendered thus usually is in two places translated Hemlock; it was some noxious plant, probably the Poppy; it was certainly of bitter taste, and poisonous in some degree.
Garlic	While this resembles the Garlic of the present day, it was of a more delicate kind; it was native to Askelon.
Gopher	Material used in constructing the ark; it may have been the Pine or Cedar, but more probably the Cypress.
Gourd	This name is applied to two distinct vines; the one, poisonous, either the Colocynth or the Wild Cucumber; the other (Jon. iv.) the Castor-oil plant.
Grape	The Grape-vine is still extensively cultivated in Syria and Palestine, and it flourishes far beyond its average in this country; a bunch of grapes grown at Welbeck weighed 19½ pounds, and measured 19¾ inches in length and 19½ inches in breadth or diameter.
Grass	This term in our version includes all that clothes the ground with verdure; there is a peculiarly beautiful variety noticed by Hasselquist as abounding in Palestine, called the Sheep's Fescue.
Heath	Two Hebrew words; the one may have indicated the Heather or Ling; the other probably should have been translated "ruins" or "forlorn," though some think it does indicate a plant, and they name the Tamarix or Juniper.
Hemlock	See Gall.
Holm	A species of Oak, mentioned only in the Apocryphal Book of the History of Susannah.
Husk	Archbishop French says the Husk mentioned in the Parable of the Prodigal Son was the fruit of the Carob tree; they have a hard dark outside and a dull sweet taste.
Hyssop	Probably the common Hyssop; it was early valued for its medicinal properties, and used as a remedy for affections of the throat and chest.
Juniper	Generally supposed to have been a species of broom, a leguminous plant, with white flower; the roots are bitter, and edible only when driven by hunger.
Leeks	Not our Leek, but the Fenu-grec, a native of Egypt, resembling Clover, used as food by men; it was supposed to be a specific against worms and dysentery.
Lentil	A leguminous plant, yielding a pulse, resembling small beans; it was chiefly used in soup or pottage.
Life, Tree of	Never identified, and possibly the name indicated no tree, but was used only as symbolic to point to the great Tree of Life, JESUS.
Lign-aloe	See Aloe.
Lily	Tradition says that the Lily grew in such quantities that the stalks dried were used as fuel; one kind is particularly noticed by travellers as peculiarly gorgeous.
Mallows	Supposed by some to have been the Sea-purslain, which grew near the sea-coast, and was eaten chiefly by the poor, but probably a coarse kind of greens, called "Jew's Mallow."
Mandrake	Still thrives in Syria and Palestine; many strange superstitions clustered around the Mandrake; the fruit was about the size of an ordinary egg, and very pleasant to the taste.
Mastich	The Mastich tree is mentioned only in the History of Susannah; it produced a fragrant resin.
Meadow	In the Hebrew of Gen. xli. 2, 18, the word rendered meadow probably indicated a water-plant or marsh-plant.
Melon	Generally regarded as indicating the Watermelon, which grew in great profusion in Egypt and in the Levant; it was about the same as our Watermelon.
Millet	Identical with our millet; it was cultivated extensively and the green stalks used as fodder, while the grain was much prized.
Mint	The Spearmint, which was much cultivated and used in Palestine; besides it culinary uses, it was scattered over the floors on account of the pleasant scent it exhales when bruised.
Mulberry	While the Mulberry abounds in Palestine (see Sycamine) the tree intended here was rather a Balsam tree distilling white tears of a pungent.? acrid taste.
Mustard	A species that, from a minute seed, grew into a considerable tree, with numerous branches, is described by travellers; its fruit resembled Currants in form, while its seed was similar to our Mustard.
Myrrh	Myrrh is a gum resin extracted from the tree balsam-myrrh, which grows in Arabia and Africa; it exudes from the bark; an ingredient of the holy anointing oil.
Myrtle	This tree was very popular on account both of its beauty and its sweet scent. Being very prolific, the groves of Myrtle have been described by travellers as exceedingly handsome.
Nettle	Not materially different from the Nettle or Thistle; too well known to require more than mention.
Oak	Many varieties of this well-known and always useful tree abounded in the Holy Land.
Olive	This tree is called in Isaiah the Oil tree; it still grows luxuriantly everywhere near the Mediterranean, and is abundant in Palestine. It was and still is highly prized.
Onion	The Onion of Egypt, though similar to that so well known among us, was far superior to it in delicacy and richness of flavor.
Palm	This was the Date-palm tree, which has ever grown abundantly in the Holy Land, and has always been deservedly a favorite.
Pannag	Supposed to be the Ginseng; cultivated extensively in China and Chinese Tartary; it has been considered a wonderful panacea for many diseases.
Paper-Reed	See Bulrush.
Pine	The name occurs three times in our version, and in each case it is probably a mistranslation, though the Pine tree did grow in Palestine.
Pomegranate	One of the most ancient and beautiful of fruit and flower trees (it is rather a bush); the fruit is about the size of an orange.
Poplar	Probably the White Poplar; it is mentioned but twice in our version, and some have questioned the rendering.
Reed	Cane growing in the marsh-lands, used for making arrows, also some kinds for manufacturing door-mats, etc.
Rose	Many varieties abound in Palestine and Syria and other Bible lands; travellers say that the Roses of Syria exceed in beauty and perfection those of any other country.
Rue	A perennial plant; it was used as a condiment, and to it was attributed the power of preventing poison from affecting the human system; it was also thought to ward off infection.
Rush	See Bulrush.
Rye	See Spelt.
Saffron	A perennial plant, the stigmas of the flowers of which have long been used as a medicinal stimulant and as a condiment.
Shittah	Shittim is the plural form, and shittim-wood is the wood of the Shittim tree; this, it is generally agreed, is the Acacia.
Spelt	The Hebrew word has been variously rendered "rye" and "fitches," but the grain meant is no doubt Spelt, a variety of wheat with smooth or bald ear.
Spikenard	The Valerian Jatamansi, the root of which is still a valued drug.
Sycamine	This tree is mentioned but once, and the Mulberry tree is supposed to have been intended; the mulberries of Palestine are described as a delicious fruit resembling our largest blackberries.
Sycamore	Not the tree that is grown in this country and Europe, but the Sycamore-fig, which, though a lofty and a wide-spreading tree, was yet tender, and its wood of little account.
Vine of Sodom	Not positively determined what tree or vine is intended; among those suggested the more probable seem to be the "mad apples" of the Arabs, or the bitter apple.
Wheat	About the same in all important points as that of the present day.
Willow	Two Hebrew words; the one either the Weeping Willow, or more likely the Oleander; the other the Egyptian Willow.
Wormwood	The Scripture term is general, comprising various bitter plants.