International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Nettles

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Nettles


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net´'lz: (1) חרוּל, ḥārūl, (; ; margin, in all, “wild vetches”); the translation “nettles” is due to the supposed derivations of ḥārūl from an (obsolete) חרל, ḥāral, meaning “to be sharp” or “stinging,” but a translation “thorns” (as in Vulgate) would in that case do as well. Septuagint has φρύγανα ἄγρια, phrúgana ágria, “wild brushwood,” in Job, and certainly the association with the “saltwort” and the retm, “broom,” in the passage would best be met by the supposition that it means the low thorny bushes plentiful in association with these plants. “Vetch” is suggested by the Aramaic, but is very uncertain. (2) קמּושׁ, ḳimmōsh (; ), and plural קמּשׁנים, ḳimmeshōnı̄m (), translated (English Versions of the Bible) “thorns,” because of the translation of ḥārūl as “nettles” in the same verse From ḳimmōsh is apparently distinct from thorns, and the translation “nettle” is very probable, as such neglected or deserted places as described in the three references readily become overgrown with nettles in Palestine The common and characteristic Palestine nettle is the Urtica pilulifera, so called from the globular heads of its flowers.