Topical Encyclopedia
The term "nettle" refers to a group of plants known for their stinging hairs, which can cause irritation upon contact with skin. In the Bible, nettles are mentioned in several passages, often symbolizing desolation, neglect, or judgment. The presence of nettles in a given area typically indicates abandonment or a curse, as these plants thrive in neglected or barren lands.
Biblical References:1.
Job 30:7 · In this passage, Job describes the outcasts of society, who "bray among the bushes and huddle beneath the nettles." Here, nettles are associated with desolation and the harsh conditions faced by those who are marginalized and destitute.
2.
Proverbs 24:30-31 · "I went past the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment. Thorns had grown up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins." While nettles are not explicitly mentioned in the Berean Standard Bible translation, the imagery of overgrown weeds and neglect aligns with the symbolic use of nettles in other biblical contexts.
3.
Isaiah 34:13 · "Thorns will overrun her citadels, nettles and brambles her fortresses. She will become a haunt for jackals, a home for owls." This verse speaks of the judgment and desolation that will come upon Edom, with nettles symbolizing the complete abandonment and ruin of once-fortified places.
4.
Hosea 9:6 · "For behold, they are gone because of destruction. Egypt will gather them up; Memphis will bury them. Weeds will possess their treasures of silver; thorns will overrun their tents." Although nettles are not directly mentioned in this translation, the imagery of weeds and thorns overtaking what was once valuable is consistent with the symbolic use of nettles as a sign of divine judgment and desolation.
Symbolism and Interpretation:In biblical literature, nettles often symbolize the consequences of sin, laziness, or divine judgment. They are a natural representation of neglect and the resulting chaos when God's order is not maintained. The presence of nettles in a narrative or prophecy serves as a visual metaphor for the spiritual and physical desolation that follows when individuals or nations turn away from God's commandments.
From a theological perspective, the mention of nettles in the Bible serves as a warning against spiritual neglect and moral decay. Just as a field left untended will become overrun with nettles, so too will a life or society that ignores God's guidance become spiritually barren and desolate. The imagery of nettles calls believers to vigilance in their faith and to maintain the spiritual "fields" of their lives with diligence and care.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(1.) Hebrews haral, "pricking" or "burning,"Proverbs 24:30, 31 (R.V. marg., "wild vetches");Job 30:7;Zephaniah 2:9. Many have supposed that some thorny or prickly plant is intended by this word, such as the bramble, the thistle, the wild plum, the cactus or prickly pear, etc. It may probably be a species of mustard, the Sinapis arvensis, which is a pernicious weed abounding in corn-fields. Tristram thinks that this word "designates the prickly acanthus (Acanthus spinosus), a very common and troublesome weed in the plains of Palestine."
(2.) Hebrews qimmosh, Isaiah 34:13;Hosea 9:6;Proverbs 24:31 (in both versions, "thorns"). This word has been regarded as denoting thorns, thistles, wild camomile; but probably it is correctly rendered "nettle," the Urtica pilulifera, "a tall and vigorous plant, often 6 feet high, the sting of which is much more severe and irritating than that of our common nettle."
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
v. t.) To fret or sting; also a plant of the genus Urtica, covered with minute sharp hairs; to irritate or vex; to cause to experience sensations of displeasure or uneasiness not amounting to violent anger.
2. (n.) A plant of the genus Urtica, covered with minute sharp hairs containing a poison that produces a stinging sensation. Urtica gracitis is common in the Northern, and U. chamaedryoides in the Southern, United States. the common European species, U. urens and U. dioica, are also found in the Eastern united States. U. pilulifera is the Roman nettle of England.
Strong's Hebrew
5636. sirpad --nettle (a desert plant)... 5635, 5636. sirpad. 5637 .
nettle (a desert plant). Transliteration: sirpad
Phonetic Spelling: (sar-pawd') Short Definition:
nettle.
...7057. qimmos -- perhaps thistles
...nettle. Or qiymowsh {kee-moshe'}; from an unused root meaning to sting; a prickly
plant --nettle. Compare qimmashown. see HEBREW qimmashown. 7056, 7057....
2738. charul -- (a kind of weed), perhaps chickpea
... khaw-rool'}; apparently, a passive participle of an unused root probably meaning
to be prickly; properly, pointed, ie A bramble or other thorny weed:nettle....
Library
On the Physical Basis of Life.
... You are doubtless aware that the commonnettle owes its stinging property to the
innumerable stiff and needle-like, though exquisitely delicate, hairs which...
The House of Offense
... He would have passed her without a word, but the woman, armed with thenettle of
a small triumph over the man who held her in contempt, could not forbear...
Closed Gates
... Let this be your motto: "Silken-handed stroke anettle, And it stings you for your
pains. Grasp it like a man of mettle, And it soft as silk remains."....
Violent Death and Triumph of George, Bishop of Alexandria. The...
... The Christians caused them to be publicly exhibited, and made a procession in order
tonettle the pagans; but the pagans gathered a multitude together, and...
Josiah
... The prevailing idolatry influenced the boy, but it influenced him to hate it with
all his heart. So out of thenettle danger we may pluck the flower safety....
The Tongue.
... In the drop of venom which distils from the sting of the smallest insect, or the
spikes of thenettle-leaf, there is concentrated the quintessence of a poison...
Love Never Tests.
... given every one of us. Did Jesus' wondrous, quiet calmnettle the tempter?
Was He ever keener and quieter? He would step from the...
Two Fountains, one Stream
... and until grief is the portion only of the cultivated classes, its healing must
come from something more universal than philosophy; or else thenettle would be...
The Wicked Man's Life, Funeral, and Epitaph
... And afterwards, when we have in our childish play climbed over thosenettle-bound
graves, and seated ourselves upon those mossgrown tombstones, we have had...
What Crouches at the Door
... say what you think of it. The stings of anettle will burn for days, if
they are touched with water. The sting and inflammation of...
Thesaurus
Nettle (2 Occurrences)... This word has been regarded as denoting thorns, thistles, wild camomile; but probably
it is correctly rendered "
nettle," the Urtica pilulifera, "a tall and
...Nettles (5 Occurrences)
... 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...
Nets (33 Occurrences)
Lotus (2 Occurrences)
... return to it. 3. (n.) The lote, ornettle tree. See Lote. 4. (n.) A genus
(Lotus) of leguminous plants much resembling clover. 5. (n...
Fig-tree (33 Occurrences)
... Urticaceae, thenettle family, which includes also the banyan, the India
rubber fig-tree, the sycamore fig and other useful plants....
Figtree
... Urticaceae, thenettle family, which includes also the banyan, the India
rubber fig-tree, the sycamore fig and other useful plants....
Brier (10 Occurrences)
... tree. (3.) Isaiah 55:13, probably simply a thorny bush. Some, following the
Vulgate Version, regard it as the "nettle.". (4.) Isaiah...
Cypress (17 Occurrences)
... Isaiah 55:13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress, and instead of the
nettle shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to Jehovah for a name, for an...
Fig (45 Occurrences)
... Urticaceae, thenettle family, which includes also the banyan, the India
rubber fig-tree, the sycamore fig and other useful plants....
Botany
... species of tree. Commonly they are oaks, terebinths, carob, meis (nettle
tree), sidr (zizyphus) or hawthorn. Besides the willful...
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