Bible Dictionaries
Adonis

Holman Bible Dictionary

(uh doh' nihss) God of vegetation and fertility with Syrian name meaning, “lord.” Worshiped in Greece and Syria. Rites seem to include the planting of seeds which quickly produced plants and that just as quickly wilted in the sun. These were used to symbolize the dying and rising of the god and to bring blessing upon crops. Similar rites were celebrated for Osiris in Egypt and possibly for Tammuz in Babylon. REB translates Isaiah 17:10 as “your gardens in honour of Adonis.” The Hebrew term appears only here in the Bible, being related to the personal name Naaman and to the Hebrew word meaning, “lovely, pleasant, agreeable.” Other translations read, “finest plants” (NIV), “pleasant plants” (KJV), “delightful plants” (NAS), “sacred gardens” (TEV), “pleasant plants” (NRSV).