The meaning of Nettles in the Bible
(From International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
net'-'lz: (1) charul, (Job 30:7; Proverbs 24:31; Zephaniah 2:9 margin, in all, "wild vetches"); the translation "nettles" is due to the supposed derivations of charul from an (obsolete) charal, meaning "to be sharp" or "stinging," but a translation "thorns" (as in Vulgate) would in that case do as well. Septuagint has phrugana agria, "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) qimmosh (Isaiah 34:13; Hosea 9:6), and plural qimmeshonim (Proverbs 24:31), translated (English Versions of the Bible) "thorns," because of the translation of charul as "nettles" in the same verse From Isaiah 34:13 qimmosh 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.
E. W. G. Masterman
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