net ´' lz : (1) חרוּל , ḥārūl , ( Job 30:7; Proverbs 24:31; Zephaniah 2:9 margin, in all, "wild vetches"); the translation "nettles" is due to the supposed derivations of ḥārūl from an (obsolete) חרל , ḥāral , meaning "to be sharp" or "stinging," but a translation "thorns" (as in Vulgate) would in that case do as well. Septuagint has φρύγανα ἄγρια , phrúgana ágria , "wild brushwood," in Job, and certainly the association with the "saltwort" and the retm , "broom," in the passage would best be met by the supposition that it means the low thorny bushes plentiful in association with these plants. "Vetch" is suggested by the Aramaic, but is very uncertain. (2) קמּושׁ , ḳimmōsh (Isaiah 34:13; Hosea 9:6 ), and plural קמּשׁנים , ḳimmeshōnı̄m (Proverbs 24:31 ), translated (English Versions of the Bible) "thorns," because of the translation of ḥārūl as "nettles" in the same verse From Isaiah 34:13 ḳimmōsh is apparently distinct from thorns, and the translation "nettle" is very probable, as such neglected or deserted places as described in the three references readily become overgrown with nettles in Palestine The common and characteristic Palestine nettle is the Urtica pilulifera , so called from the globular heads of its flowers.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) was edited by James Orr, John Nuelsen, Edgar Mullins, Morris Evans, and Melvin Grove Kyle and was published complete in 1939. This web site includes the complete text.
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