the Fourth Week after Easter
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!
Bible Dictionaries
Lily
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or LILY ( shûshan , 1 Kings 7:10; shôshannah , 2 Chronicles 4:5 , Song of Solomon 2:1 , Hosea 14:5 ). The Heb. word is probably a loan word from the Egyptian for the ‘lotus.’ In Arab [Note: Arabic.] , it is sûsan , which includes a great number of allied flowers lilies, irises, gladioli, etc. No doubt the Heb. word was equally comprehensive. Flowers of this group are very plentiful in Palestine, the irises being pre-eminent for their handsome appearance. The ‘ lily work ’ ( 1 Kings 7:19; 1 Kings 7:22; 1 Kings 7:26 ) is likely to have been modelled after the lotus ( NymphÅ“a lotus ) itself: lotus-like flowers appear on some Jewish coins. The Gr. krinon of Matthew 6:28 , Luke 12:27 probably had as wide a significance as shûshan , and included much more than actual lilies.
E. W. G. Masterman.
These files are public domain.
Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Hastings, James. Entry for 'Lily'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/l/lily.html. 1909.
