ONION"
3/6
ONKELOS
by the same author, nj'iJ^n '^3*11, or Ilodegetica in Mischnam (Leips. 1859), p. 40; Kaphall, Post-Biblical History of the Jews (N. Y. 18G6), ii, 181 sq. ; Edersheim, History of the Jewish Nation (Edinburgh, 1857), p. 127 sq. ; Griitz, Geschichte der Juden (Leips. 1863), iv, loo, 136; Dereubourg, Essai sur I'/iistoire et la geograjthie de la Palestine, d'apres les Talmuds et les autres sources rabbiniques (Paris, 1867), p. 112 sq. ; Milman, History of the Jews (N.Y. 1870), ii, 50 sq.; nbirn "(lomi 1EQ, or Liber Juchassin sice Lexicon Biographicum et Histori- cum (ed. H. Filipowski, London, 1857), 15 sq. ; Schurer, Lehrbuch der Neutestamentlichen Zeitgesckichte (Leips. 1874), p. 133. (B. P.)
Onion (^^3, betsel, only found in Numb, xi, 5, in the plural form D'^blI3, from the root ?^3, same as h'S'2, to peel ; Sept. upofijivov ; Vulg. cape). The Israel- ites in Taberah, weeping for the flesh of Egypt, said : '• We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions (befsalim), and the garlic" (Numb, xi, 4, 5). Though the identification of many Biblical plants is considered uncertain, there can be no doubt that betsel means the common onion, the Allium cepa of botanists. This is proved by its Arabic name, and its early employ- ment as an article of diet in Egypt. In the present day the onion, distinguished from other species of Allium by its fistular leaves and swelling stalks, is well known as cultivated in all parts of Europe and in most parts of Asia. Its native country is not known ; but it is prob- able that some part of the Persian region first produced it in a wild state, as many species of Allium are found in the mountainous chain which extends from the Cas- pian to Cashmere, and likewise in the Himalaya Moun- tains. It is common in Persia, where it is called piaz, and has long been introduced into India, where it re- ceives the same name. By the Arabs it is called basl or bassal, under which name it is described in their works on Materia Medica, where the description of Kpofipvov given by Dioscorides (ii, 181) is adopted. That the onion has long been cultivated in the south of Europe and in the north of Asia is evident from the different kinds enumerated by Theophrastus, which he states derived their names chiefly from the places where they were reared. Among these probably some other species may have been included ; but no doubt several were varieties only of the onion. Pliny {IJist. Xat. xix, 6) also enumerates these as well as others cultivated in Italy, and notices the superstition of the Egyptians in regard to them : "Where, by the way, I cannot overpass the foolish superstition of the ^Egyptians, who used to swear by garlick and onions, calling them to witness in taking their othes, as if they were no less than some gods" (Holland's transl.). Juvenal {Sat. xv, 9) in like manner ridicules the Egyptians for their superstitious veneration of onions, etc.: '" O holy nation, that raises in gardens its inviolable divinities, the leeks and the onions !" This, however, must be an exaggerated state- ment, as it is unlikely that the Israelites should have been allowed to regale themselves upon what was con- sidered too sacred for or forbidden to their taskmasters. It is probable, as suggesteil by Dr. Harris, that the priests only refrained from what was freely partaken of by the rest of the people. This may be observed in the present day among the Brahmins of India. It has also been supposed that some particular kind of onion may have been held sacred, from its utility as a medicine, as the sea-onion, or squill (Scilla maritima), which grows in abundance on the sea-coast in the neighborhood of Pelusium, whose inhabitants are said by Lucian to have especially worshipped the onion. But it is evident that the Israelites in the desert did not long for that acrid bulb as they did for the melons and cucumbers (Kitto). It may, moreover, be remarked that the onions of warm, dry countries grow to a considerable size, and instead of being acrid and pungent in taste, are comparatively
bland and mild and nutritious articles of diet. This is conspicuous in the Portugal onions, which are largely imported into other countries; but it especially distin- guishes the onions of Egypt, as travellers have often remarked (Wilkinson, Atic. Egyptians [Harpers' ed.], i, 169), they being an important part of the food of the nation (Herod, ii, 125 ; comp. Wilkinson, i, 168 sq.) and a leading article of the markets (Sonini, Trav. ii, 321; comp.Arvieux,royo^e, i, 176; Korte,^eiA'. p.430). Ilas- selquist {Trav. p. 290) says, '• Whoever has tasted onions in Egyjit must allow that none can be had better in any other part of the universe : here they are sweet; in other countries they are nauseous and strong. . . . They eat them roasted, cut into four pieces, with some bits of roasted meat which the Turks in Egj'pt call Jcebab ; and with this dish they are so delighted that I have heard them wish they might enjoy it in Paradise. They likewise make a soup of them." The Jews cultivated onions in Palestine, and the Talmud often mentions them (see Mishna, Terumoth, ii, 5 ; x, 1 ; Maaser. v, 8). Korte {Reis. p. 430) remarks that m Asia Minor also the onions are better than in Europe.