Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

MANDRAKE

A round, greenish-yellow, plumlike fruit (although some suggest that tuberous root masses are indicated) of Mandragora vernalis, a perennial plant most commonly known from southern Palestine and Egypt, but also appearing in Syria and, apparently, in the area of Paddan-aram.

The mandrake was thought to be an aphrodisiac (cf. Cant. 7:13 and its occurrence in traditional Egyptian love songs; cf. also the traditional translation of Heb. dûḏay as “love apples”). It apparently was thought to be an aid to fertility and conception (Gen. 30:14-16). However, the biblical text clearly does not endorse the idea, and in fact it may provide a polemic against it. The source of the fertility of both Leah and Rachel was not mandrakes but God’s “listening to” them, apparently a response to their prayer for children.

Walter E. Brown






Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)

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