7. CiiSnEK (P'^H; Sept. OKav^a, ff))Q tKrpioyujv ; Yulg. spina, paliurus) occurs in Prov. xv, 19, "The way of the slothful is as a hedge of ch.edek (A. V. 'thorns')," and in Mic. vii, 4, where the A. V. has "brier." The Alexand. MS., in the former passage, in- terprets the meaning thus, "The ways of the slothful are strewed with thorns." Celsius {Hieroh. ii, 35), re- ferring the Ileb. term to the Arabic cliadak, is of opin- ion that some spinous species of the solanum is intend- ed. The Arabic term clearly denotes some species of this genus, either the .S'. melonfjela., var. esculentum, or the S. Soilomeum ("apple of Sodom"). See Vine of SoDO.M. Both these kinds are beset with prickles, and some species of solanum grow to a considerable size. They are very common in dry arid situations. S. sanc- tum, the /S'. spinosuiH of others, is foiuul in Palestine. Dr. Harris is of opinion that chedek is the Colufea spino- sa of Fbrskal, which is called heddad in Arabic, and of which there is an engraving in Kussell's Nat. Hist, of Aleppo, tab. 5. See Buier.
8. Choach (niri; Sept. uKav, aKav^a, aKXOv\, Kuicij; Vulg. paliufus, lappa, spina, tribulus), a word of very uncertain meaning which occurs in the sense of some thorny plant, is rendered " thickets" in 1 Sam. xiii, (i; " brambles" in Isa. xxxiv, 13 ; but usually either " thistle," as in 2 Kings xiv, 9 ; 2 Chron. xxv, 18 (in both which passages it is spoken of as growing on Leb- anon ) ; Job xxi, 40 ( " Let thistles grow instead of wheat," which shows that it was some rapidh' matur- ing plant); or " thorns," as in 2 Chron. xxxiii, 11 ; Job
xli, 2 (which shows, it had a hard spine) ; Prov. xxvi, 9; Cant, ii, 2; IIos. ix, t!. Celsius {Hirrob. i, 477) be- lieves, from the similarity of the Arabic klwsh, that the blackthorn {Prunus sylcestris) is denoted; but this would not suit the passage in Job, as it is a slow-grow- ing tree. Perhaps the term is used in a wide sense to signifj' any thorny plant of quick growth in some fields and meadows. There are two classes of thorny weeds which choke the corn-tields of Palestine, the thistles and the centaureas or knapweeds. These last are chief- ly of two kinds, both commonly called star-thistle, name- ly, the Ceji/aurea calcitrapa, which is the most frequent and troublesome intruder in both cultivated and neglect- ed fields in Palestine, and the C. verutum, which is even more formidable. See Thistle, •
Centaurca calcitrapa.
9. Dardar ('1'i1'?'i!) occurs in Gen. iii, 18, "Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee;" and again in Hos. x, 8, in both of which passages dardar is con- joined with kots. The rabbins describe it as a thorny plant which they also call accobita. The akkub of the Arabs is a thistle or wild artichoke. The Sept. and Vulg., however, render dardar by the word rpi/3oXoc, tribulus, a caltrop, in both passages, and this will answer as well as any other thorny or prickly plant. See Tri- bolos, below.
10. KiMOSH Cd'TO'^p) or kimnwsh (wISp) occurs in Isa. xxxiv, 13; Hos. ix, 6, in both which jiassages it is spoken of as occupying deserted and ruined sites, and is translated " nettles." Another form of the word, kim- mashon ("TiTSp), occurs in Prov. xxiv, 31, where it is used in connection with charul as descriptive of the neg- lected field of the sluggard, and is translated "thorns." "All commentators agree that this is the sting-nettle {urtica), of which there are several varieties in Pales- tine. The most common is Urtica pilulifera, a tall and vigorous plant, often six feet high, the sting of which is much more severe and irritating than our common net- tle. It particidarly affects old ruins, as near Tell Hum, Beisan, and the ruined khan by the bridge over the Jor- dan, and fonns a most annoj'ing obstacle to the explorer who wishes to investigate old remains" (Tristram, Nat. Hist, of the Bible, p. 474 ). The ordinary nettle is a well-known wild plant, the leaves of which are armed with stings, connected with a small bag of poison ; and when the leaves are slightly pressed by the hand, the stings penetrate the flesh, force in the pcjisou, and pro-
THORN
382
THORN"
duce a swelling; with a sharp burning pain. The leaf, when wet or dead, does not possess this power. The presence of nettles betokens a waste and neglected soil. See Nkttle.
11. KoTs (vip) occurs in several passages of Script- ure (Exod. xxii, G; Judg. viii,*7, 16; 2 Sam. xxiii, 6; Psa. cxviii, 12: Isa. xxxii, 13; xxxiii, 12; Jer. iv, 3; xii, 13; Ezek. xxviii, 24; A.V. invariably " thorns") ; in two (Gen. iii, 1«; Hos. x, 8) it is mentioned along with dardur, wliere the two words may be considered equivalent, respectively, to the English tlwrns and this- tles. The Sept. translates it in all the passages by uKiivJu. and it probably was used in a general sense to denote plants which were thorny, useless, and indicative of neglected culture or deserted habitations, growing naturally in desert situations, and useful only for fuel. But if any particular plant be meant, the Ononis s]>mo- sn. or " rest-harrow," mentioned by Ilasselquist (p. 289), raay be selected as fully characteristic : " Spinosissima ilia et perniciosa planta, campos integros tcgit iEgypti et Palestine. Non dubitandura quin banc indicaverint in aliquo loco scriptores sacri,"