the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Dictionaries
Flowers
Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament
or FLOWERS.—Palestine has a flora of wonderful wealth and variety. The known species exceed three thousand, and even this large list is probably far from complete. But numbers alone convey no adequate idea of its varied nature. This little land contains within its narrow limits the most remarkable diversities of soil, surface, and climate. As is the land so is its flora, which at the one extreme, amid the heights of Lebanon, is Alpine in its character, and at the other extreme, in the gorge of the Dead Sea, tropical.
In the NT there are very few references to flowers, and these are of the most general character (James 1:10-11; 1 Peter 1:24). In the Gospels the only mention of them is in the words of our Lord, ‘Consider the lilies of the field’ (Matthew 6:23, Luke 12:27). It is noteworthy that it is to their beauty that Christ appeals; elsewhere in the NT flowers are the emblem of frailty and evanescence. But in spite of the comparative infrequency of Scripture allusions to them or praise of their beauty, the Jews were lovers of flowers. This is attested by the floral ornamentation on the woodwork of the oracle (1 Kings 6:18), the folding-doors (1 Kings 6:35), and the pillars of the temple (1 Kings 7:22), the brim of the molten sea (1 Kings 7:26), and the golden candlestick (Exodus 25:31; Exodus 25:33). From the Mishna we learn that at the Feast of Harvest (Exodus 23:16) the first crop of fruit offered at the altar was decked with flowers (Bikkurim, ii. 3).
Among the beautiful flowers of Palestine may be mentioned anemones, crocuses, cyclamens, gladioli, hyacinths, irises, poppies, roses, and tulips.
Hugh Duncan.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Flowers'. Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdn/f/flowers.html. 1906-1918.
