GREEK · G2238
ἡδύοσμος
hēduosmos — mint
ἡδύ-οσμος, -ον (ἡδύς, ὀσμή) sweet-smelling; as subst., τὸ ἡ., mint: Mat.23:23, Luk.11:42.† (AS)
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Mint
Original Hebrew / Aramaic / Greek connected to this term
How to read this: there is rarely one magic “true meaning” hidden behind an English word. A lexicon records a word’s semantic range. The intended meaning is narrowed by grammar, sentence, author, historical usage and context.
Historical dictionary entry
(Gr. heduosmon, i.e., “having a sweet smell”), one of the garden herbs of which the Pharisees paid tithes (Matt. 23:23; Luke 11:42). It belongs to the labiate family of plants. The species most common in Syria is the Mentha sylvestris, the wild mint, which grows much larger than the garden mint (M. sativa). It was much used in domestic economy as a condiment, and also as a medicine. The paying of tithes of mint was in accordance with the Mosiac law (Deut. 14:22), but the error of the Pharisees lay in their being more careful about this little matter of the mint than about weightier matters.
Scripture references
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.