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Pomegranate (Hebrew rimmon)
Moses, in Deuteronomy 8:8, mentions it as one of the desirable features of the Promised Land and Solomon adorned his Song of Songs with allusions to both the fruit and the flowers of that beautiful plant. "Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks." (Song of Solomon 4:3) The word pomegranate comes from pomum granatum, or 'grained apple' of the Romans. This name refers to the many red seeds embedded in the juicy pulp visible through the thin rind of its red‑coloured fruit, the size of an orange. The tree itself is small and bush‑like; the leaves are deep green and the flowers are scarlet. The Flowers and Fruits of the Bible |
The pomegranate came to be regarded as a sacred plant early in Man's history and its fruits and flowers were used as models for decorating both the pillars of Solomon's temple and the hem of the high priest's robes. "And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, even two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the pillars". (1 Kings 7:42) "And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen." (Exodus 39:24)