Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

THORN

The thorn of the Bible is not one particular plant. Like the English word “thorn,” it is a general designation for several species. More than 20 Hebrew words have been rendered “thorn,” “thistle,” “brier,” “bramble,” and “nettle” by various translations, often inconsistently. Of these, Heb. qôṣ, šayiṯ, ʾāṭāḏ, and ḥôaḥ appear frequently in pairs. Gk. ákantha also means “thorn.”

Thorns grew profusely and easily in ancient Israel. Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Desf. and Paliurus spina-christi Mill. are two common thorns that have been identified with Christ’s crown of thorns (Matt. 27:29 par.). However, it is impossible to discern which plant was used to make the crown, as there are more than 70 species of thornlike plants in the Holy Land. Ziziphus spina-christi may grow more than 9 m. (30 ft.) in height and bears a small, low-quality fruit. It may be the thorn of Jotham’s parable in Judg. 9:8-15 (NRSV “bramble”). Jesus alludes to the low-quality fruit of the thorn when he asks, “Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?” (Matt. 7:16; cf. Luke 6:44).

In Gen. 3:17-18 God curses the ground, declaring that it would bear thorns and thistles. Indeed, farmers must constantly battle thorns which grow readily on untended land (Prov. 15:19). Jesus uses this image in the parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-9 par.). The prophets use thorns and briers as symbols of the desolation of the land and the people (e.g., Isa. 5:6; Jer. 12:13).

Thorns were used as hedges (Sir. 28:24) and instruments of torture (Judg. 8:16). They are highly flammable (Exod. 22:6[MT 5]), cleared by burning (Isa. 33:12), and were used in hearth fires (Ps. 58:9; Eccl. 7:6).

At 2 Cor. 12:7 Gk. skólops refers to a physical affliction (“a thorn . . . in the flesh”).

Megan Bishop Moore

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

THORN

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)