Nuts

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Smith's Bible Dictionary [1]

Nuts. Nuts are mentioned among the good things of the things, which the sons of Israel were to take, as a present to Joseph in Egypt.  Genesis 43:11. There can scarcely be a doubt that the Hebrew word here, denotes the fruit of the pistachio, ( Pistacia vera ), for which Syria and Palestine have been long famous. In  Song of Solomon 6:11, a different Hebrew word is translated "nuts." In all probability, it here refers to the walnut tree. According to Josephus, the walnut tree was formerly common and grew most luxuriantly, around the Lake of Gennesareth.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible [2]

NUTS. 1 . ’Ä•gôz (  Song of Solomon 6:11 ), without doubt the fruit of the walnut-tree ( Juglans regia ), called to-day in Arab. [Note: Arabic.] jauz . 2. botnîm Genesis 43:11 ) means pistachio nuts, the fruit of Pistacia vera , a tree widely cultivated in Palestine. The nuts, known in Arab [Note: Arabic.] , as fistuq , are very great favourites; they are eaten raw, and also made into various sweets and confectionery.

E. W. G. Masterman.

Morrish Bible Dictionary [3]

1. botnim. This is judged to be the fruit of the pistachio tree (Pistacia vera). These nuts were among the good things sent to Joseph by his father.  Genesis 43:11 .

2. egoz. The bride "went down into the garden of nuts."   Song of Solomon 6:11 . This word is considered to refer to the walnut tree (Juglans regia). Josephus and others speak of the walnut tree growing in Palestine.

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary [4]

Christ is represented as going down into the garden of nuts. ( Song of Song of Solomon 6:11) The word rendered nuts in this passage is never used elsewhere in the Bible. Some suppose it means pruned gardens, from the word pruning. But the great point intended from it is, to denote the grace and condescension in Christ, to visit his churches, and to take notice of the graces he himself hath planted in them.

People's Dictionary of the Bible [5]

Nuts. Those mentioned in  Genesis 43:11 are doubtless pistachio-nuts, which were produced in Syria, but not in Egypt. Another word translated "nuts" in  Song of Solomon 6:11 denotes what are known in our markets as "English walnuts," produced by a noble tree— Juglans Regia —which is everywhere cultivated in the East.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types [6]

 Song of Solomon 6:11 (b) This probably describes the children of GOD. They live in heavenly places, not down in the swamps. They are of many colors, like the various races. They have good, sweet hearts. Some have thin shells, and some are hard and thick. They are of various shapes and sizes, according to the way they have grown. There is much about them to be thrown away, but much to be kept that is valuable.

Easton's Bible Dictionary [7]

 Genesis 43:11 Song of Solomon 6:11

Holman Bible Dictionary [8]

Plants In The Bible

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [9]

nuts  :

(1) ( אגוז , 'ĕghōz  ; καρύα , karúa  ; Arabic jauz , "the walnut" (  Song of Solomon 6:11 )): This is certainly the walnut tree, Juglans regia , a native of Persia and the Himalayas which flourishes under favorable conditions in all parts of Palestine; particularly in the mountains. In such situations it attains the height of from 60 to 90 ft. A grove of such trees affords the most delightful shade.

(2) ( בּטנים , boṭnı̄m  ; τερέβινθοι , terébinthoi (  Genesis 43:11 , margin "pistachio nuts")): The Hebrew is perhaps allied to the Arabic buṭm , the "terebinth," which is closely allied to the Pistacia vera , Natural Order Anacardiaceae , which produces pistachio nuts. These nuts, known in Arabic as fistūḳ , are prime favorites with the people of Palestine. They are oblong, 3/4 inches long, with green, oily cotyledons. They are eaten raw and are also made into various sweets and confectionery. They are a product of Palestine, very likely to be sent as a present to Egypt ( Genesis 43:11 ).

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature [10]

This word occurs only in , where Jacob, wishing to conciliate the ruler of Egypt, desires his sons on their return to 'take of the best fruits in the land in their vessels and carry down the man a present,' and along with other articles mentions 'nuts and almonds.' There is little doubt that pistachio-nuts is the article here meant.

The pistachio-nut-tree is well known, extending as it does from Syria to Afghanistan. From the latter country the seeds are carried as an article of commerce to India, where they are eaten in their uncooked state, added to sweetmeats, or as a dessert fried with pepper and salt, being much relished by Europeans for the delicacy of their flavor. The pistachio-tree is most common in the northern, that is, the cooler parts of Syria, but it is also found wild in Palestine in some very remarkable positions, as Mount Tabor, and the summit of Mount Attarus (Nebo?). It delights in a dry soil, and rises to the height of 20, and sometimes 30 feet. As it belongs to the same genus as the terebinth-tree, so like it the male and female flowers grow on separate trees.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [11]

in ecclesiastical usage, sometimes designates a cup made out of a cocoanut; examples remain at Corpus Christi and Exeter colleges, Oxford. See Walcott, Sacred Archaeology, p. 405.

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