thistle

1. Hebrew: hoah (2 Kings 14:9; Job 31:40). In Job 41:2 the Hebrew word is rendered “thorn,” but in the Revised King James Version “hook.” It is also rendered “thorn” in 2 Chronicles 33:11; Proverbs 26:9; Song of Songs 2:2; “brambles” in Isaiah 34:13. It is supposed to be a variety of the wild plum-tree, but by some it is regarded as the common thistle, of which there are many varieties in Israel.

2. Hebrew: dardar, meaning “a plant growing luxuriantly” (Genesis 3:18; Hos. 10:8); Greek: tribolos, “a triple point” (Matthew 7:16; Hebrews 6:8, “brier,” Revised King James Version “thistle”). This was probably the star-thistle, called by botanists Centaurea calcitropa, or “caltrops,” a weed common in corn-fields. (See Thorn.)

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• bramble
• thorn
• plants
• curse