VI. Additional Plants. Some plants mentioned in the Bible were used in a variety of ways. Since these plants served very useful purposes in Bible times, they deserve individual consideration.

A. Bulrushes. Two Hebrew words refer to this plant - gome and agmon. Sometimes our English versions simply call it the "rush" (cf. Is. 9:14; 35:7).

Scholars generally believed this plant was the papyrus. It grew abundantly in northern Egypt along the banks of the upper Nile. Although ti still grows there today, overuse had made it scarce. It also grows i northern Galilee at the mouth of the Jordan.

Papyrus is a shallow-rooted plant that grows in mire (Job 8:11). It reaches about 3 m. (10 ft.) high on an unbranched stem, which is 5 to 8 cm. (2 to 3 in.) in diameter at the base. A large tufted head at the top of the stem droops when the plant is mature (Is. 58:5).

The Egyptians used this plant for making boats (Is. 18:2) and fishing rope (Job 41:2, RSV). They used its sap for sugars, medicine, and fuel. The pithy substance inside the stem was eaten. More important for us today is the fact that the Egyptians first manufactured paper from this plant. Many manuscripts on papyrus have helped us learn more about the text of the Bible.



B. Cockles. No one is certain what the cockle really was. The Hebrew word boshah literally means "stinking like carrion."

The word probably refers to weeds in general, as Job 31:40 seems to imply. Perhaps it refers to weeds with a foul odor, as the Hebrew word suggests.

Some think it denotes the Arum genus of marsh plants that grow in Asia today. However, this explanation does not fit the Bible's references to cockles' growing "instead of barley" in open fields (Job 31:40).



C. Cotton. The RSV renders the Hebrew word karpas as cotton. It literally means "to be white," so the KJV often translates it as fine linen (Gen. 41:42; I Chron. 4:21).

India first cultivated cotton, and subsequent growth of the crop probably spread to Persia (Esther 1:6) and Egypt. Cotton was an important commodity of trade in the ancient world.



D. Flax. Flax was cultivated i Egypt from ancient times (cf. Exod. 9:31). The Hebrew word for this plant was pishtah.

Flax grew in fertile soil. It reached about 90 cm. (36 in.) high, with delicate light blue flowers.

Flax was an important crop in Egypt and the rest of the ancient world. To harvest flax, farmers pulled it up by the roots and spread it to dry on housetops. It was customary for women to perform this task, and this chore was considered the mark fo a virtuous woman (Prov. 31:13). Hebrew flax was grow in Canaan before the conquest under Joshua. Its woody stems furnished fiber for fine linen (Is. 19:9; Luke 23:53).

Today, linseed oil is extracted from flax seeds. We do not know whether this was done in Bible times.



E. Grass. Of all the plant kingdom, grass is probably the item most useful to man. Many kinds of grasses are listed in the Bible.

Sometimes the Bible uses grass to refer to cereal grains or to herbs in a general way (Is. 51:12). At other times, Scripture makes a distinction between "grasses" intended for man and those that were food for cattle (Psa. 104:14). Grass was used to symbolize man's brief lfie on earth (Psa. 90:5; 103:15-16). In teaching His disciples their worth to GOD, Jesus mentioned the custom of burning dry straw, herbs, and stubble in ovens (Matt. 6:30).



F. Hay. When the word hay is mentioned in English versions of the Bible, it does not mean dried grass stored for cattle. Hebrew farmers did not store food for their cattle in this way. Instead, hay refers either to green shoots of grass or mown grass (Prov. 27:25; Isa. 15:6).



G. Juniper Bush. This should not be confused with the juniper tree. This shrub grows about 4 m. 12.1 ft.) high in the sandy soil of the Jordan Valley and along the Sinai Peninsula.

Its twiggy, almost leafless branches bear clusters of pinkish flowers. It is a member of the broom family. The Hebrew word for it is rothem.

Desert travelers used this bush for shade. For example, Elijah rested under a juniper fbush in the wilderness of Judah as he tried to escape from Jezebel (I Kings 19:4). Sometimes, in dire situations, the bitter roots of the juniper were eaten (Job 30:4).

Bedouins used the root of the juniper for charcoal, and this may have been done during Old Testament times (Ps. 120:4).



H. Lily. Flowers grew abundantly in Palestine - on hills, in valleys, in gardens, beside water, and i open fields. Yet Scripture mentions the lily more often than any other type of flower.

No particular lily may have been meant by the Song of Solomon (2:1-2; 5:13; 6:2). The Hebrew word for this plant was shushan. Arabs use the word susan to refer to beautiful flowers in general.

Because of its bright color, abundance, and beauty, the anemone could be the flower referred to in Matthew 6:28-29. Various other kinds of flowers grew in Palestine - such as gladiolus, anemone, lily, hyacinths, tulips, and irises. So it is doubtful whether Jesus had any specific flower in mind when He referred to the "lily" in His Sermon on the Mount.



I. Nettles. The plants that the Bible calls nettles were probably thorny weeds growing over neglected or uncultivated land (Prov. 24; I(s. 34:13; Hos. 9:6; Zeph. 2:9). The Hebrew word behind this term is kimmosh. Although the term may not refer to a specific plant, it could possible mean the "Roman nettle." This species is still growing in Palestine today.



J. Olives. The olive tree has been known since very early times (Gen. 8:11). It is generally believed to have come from North India and was flourishing in Canaan before tyhe conquest under Joshua (Deut. 6:11). The olive tree is approximately the size of the American apple tree and produces beautiful clusters of white flowers (cf. Hos. 14:6). The olives are green when immature, then turn black as they ripen.

In autumn, the olives were harvested by beating the branches with a stick. Some were left on the tree for the poor (Deut. 24:20).

Olives were grown chiefly for their oil, which was used in cooking. The oil was also used for fueling lamps, grooming the hair and skin, and for religious rites. Olive wood was used for Solomon's temple (I Kings 6:23; 31-33), and olive branches formed booths for feast days (Neh. 8:15).

An olive tree does not bear fruit until its fifteenth year, but it grows for hundreds of years. The "wild olives" mentioned by Paul in Romans 11:17-24 grew on a low bush.



K. Palms. The date palm grows from 18 to 24 m. (60 to 80 ft.) high and lives over 200 years. The Hebrew name for it was tamar. The Bible describes it as being "upright" (Jer. 10:5). Indeed, 2 m. (6 ft.) leaves branching from the top give this tree a very tall appearance. The date palm flourished throughout the Near East, especially around the Nile River and the Red Sea. Bethany was called the "house of dates" and Jericho "the city of palm trees."

The palm tree was useful in many ways, most of all because of its fruit. It bears the msot fruit between its thirtieth and eightieth years. Dates are eaten fresh or dried, and some are made into wine.

Carvings of palm trees decorated Solomon's temple (I Kings 6:29,32,35). Palm branches were used to make booths for feast days (Neh. 8:15). The shoots that sprouted around the bottom of the trunk were used for ropes, sandals, and baskets.

In Psalm 92:12, the palm is a symbol of the righteous. Palm branches were spread before Jesus as he entered Jerusalem (John 12:13).



L. Papyrus. See the section on "Bulrushes".



M. Reeds. The reed of Egypt and Palestine resembled bamboo; it grew very thick in marshy areas (Job 40:21). Its 4-m. (12 ft.) stems are hollow and may have been used for musical instruments. The reed has a massive purple bloom at the top that bends in the slightest breeze (Matt. 11:7). Isaiah and Jeremiah refer to it as "cane" (Is. 43:24; Jer. 6:20). The Hebrew word for it was kaney; the Greeks called it kalamos.

The Bible used cane to symbolize the punishment of Israel (I Kings 14:15). It denoted weakness (II Kings 18:21; Ezek. 29:6). It also functioned as a unit of measure, because of its uniformly jointed stem (Ezek. 40:3,5). The Roman soldiers used a reed t ridicule and abuse Jesus (Matt. 27:29-30).



N. Roses. The Hebrew word signifying the true rose (rhodus) is only mentioned in the deuterocanonical books of Ecclesiasticus (24:14; 39:13; 50:8) and The Wisdom of Solomon (2:8). However, the maid who recognized Peter at the gate was named Rhoda - literally meaning "a rose" (Acts 12:13-16).

It is doubtful whether the Hebrew word habazeleth actually means rose in Song of Solomon 2:1 and Isaiah 35:1. Some scholars suggest that the "rose of Sharon" was in fact the narcissus, which blooms in the spring on the Plain of Sharon. Others think this term refers to the meadow saffron, with its lilac-colored flowers. Still others think that the "rose of Sharon" was a form of the papyrus, which blooms on Sharon each autumn.

The wild rose is seen only in the extreme northern portions of Palestine, while the true rose is a native of Media and Persia. The true rose was later brought to the countries of the Mediterranean and grows today on the mountains of Palestine.



O. Soapwort. Before the manufacture of soap as we know it today, people in Palestine used a crude form of soap made from the ashes of the roots of the soapwort, mixed with olive oil.

The Hebrew words for these soap plants - bor and borith - literally meant "that which cleanses." For making soap, the Hebrews used several types of scrubby alkaline plants that grew in the area of the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean. They often used this soft soap for bathing (Job 9:30; Jer. 2:22).

Generally, Hebrew women used the root of the soapwort for washing linens, because they believed it would not make them shrink. Men used the ashes of the glasswort and the saltwort to make potash for smelting metals (Is. 1:25; Mal. 3:2).



P. Straw. After Israelite farmers threshed their grain, they fed the remaining straw to cattle and work animals (Gen. 24:25,32; Judg. 19:19; Isa. 25:10). During their Egyptian bondage, the Israelties mixed straw with clay to make bricks; this was to prevent the bricks from cracking. When the pharaoh took their straw away, they gathered stubble in the field and chopped it for straw (Exod. 5:7,12,16).

Straw was used as a symbol of weakness in Job 41:27.



Q. Tares. The Bible mentions "tares" only in Matthew 13:25-40. The Greek word for this plant is zizanion. The seeds are poisonous, producing dizziness and sometimes death if swallowed. The modern name for this plant is the "bearded darnel" (lolium temulentum). It is a grass very common in the Near East, and looks very similar to wheat until it begins to head. Darnels are usually left in the field to ripen until harvest, and then are separated when the wheat is winnowed. Since the grain of the "tares" is smaller and lighter than the wheat, it is blown away with the chaff. If any tares remain, they are passed through a sieve and separated from the wheat.



R. Thorns and Thistles. Many Hebrew words denote thorny plants, and are variously translated as bramble, brier, thorns, or thistles. For example, the Hebrew word choach is usually translated thistle. Actually, it refers to many kinds of prickly plants (Judg. 8:7,16).

Probably the most well-known of the thorns of Palestine is called the "crown of thorns." This is a small tree that grows 6 to 9 m. (20 to 30 ft.), whose thorny boughs Roman soldiers plaited for Jesus' head at the Crucifixion (Matt. 27:29).

The shrubby plant called "burnet" grows in Judea, Galilee, and around Mount Carmel. It was used for feed and for fueling the baker's oven (Eccl. 7:6).

Many of these prickly plants cover the land and choke the crops (Matt. 13:7). Modern Israeli farmers sometimes cut them before they go to seed.

Hosea alludes to the way the Israelites fortified their walls by placing thorny branches along the top (Hos. 3:6). The Old Testament often spoke of thorns as symbols of punishment (Num. 33:55; Judg. 2:3; Prov. 22:5).



S. Willows. The Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, and most English versions have rendered the Hebrew word aravah as willow. Although several species of willow grew in Palestine, it is generally believed that this word refers to the Babylon willow, which flourished on the banks of the Euphrates (Ps. 137:2; Is. 44:4).

GOD instructed the Israelites to build booths for the Feast of Tabernacles out of willow branches (Lev. 23:30). After the captivity in Babylon, the willow became an emblem of sorrow (Psa. 137:1-2).

The true willow has long narrow leaves, hanging on drooping branches. The flowers are small furry catkins that appear before the leaves. The seed pods split open and release furry seeds to the wind. This beautiful tree is rarely seen today in the Holy Land.



T. Wormwood. This plant is distinguished for its bitter juice (Lam. 3:15). Several species grew in the arid regions of Palestine and northern Africa.

Scholars believe that wormwood (Hebrew, lanah) was either the absinthium, which yielded oil for medicinal purposes, or a low-growing shrub with small leaves and heads of yellow-greenish flowers.

The Bible refers to wormwood - along with gall and hemlock - to signify bitterness (Rev. 8:11). In Deuteronomy 29:18 it symbolizes the disobedient, and in Jeremiah 9:15; 23:15 it is used to denote punishment.

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