| Easton's Bible Dictionary (Hebrews `ezob; LXX. hyssopos), first mentioned in Exodus 12:22 in connection with the institution of the Passover. We find it afterwards mentioned in Leviticus 14:4, 6, 52; Numbers 19:6, 18; Hebrews 9:19. It is spoken of as a plant "springing out of the wall" (1 Kings 4:33). Many conjectures have been formed as to what this plant really was. Some contend that it was a species of marjoram (origanum), six species of which are found in Palestine. Others with more probability think that it was the caper plant, the Capparis spinosa of Linnaeus. This plant grew in Egypt, in the desert of Sinai, and in Palestine. It was capable of producing a stem three or four feet in length (Matthew 27:48; Mark 15:36. Comp. John 19:29). Noah Webster's Dictionary (n.) A plant (Hyssopus officinalis). The leaves have an aromatic smell, and a warm, pungent taste. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia HYSSOP his'-up ('ezobh; hussspos, Exodus 12:22 Leviticus 14:4, 6, 4:9; Numbers 19:6, 18 1 Kings 4:33; Psalm 51:7 John 19:29 Hebrews 9:19): A plant used for ritual cleansing purposes; a humble plant springing out of the wall (1 Kings 4:33), the extreme contrast to the cedar.
The common hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) of the Natural Order Labiatae, an aromatic plant with stomatic properties, cannot be the hyssop of the Bible as it is unknown in Palestine, but allied aromatic plants of the same Natural Order have by Maimonides (Neg. xiv.6) and other Jewish writers been identified with it. Probably hyssop is identical with the Arabic zat`ar, a name applied to a group of aromatic plants of the genus marjoram and thyme. They would any of them furnish a bunch suitable for sprinkling, and they have the important recommendation that they grow everywhere, being found even in the desert. Post thinks of all varieties the Origanum maru, a special variety of marjoram which favors terrace walls and rocks, is the most probable.
The proposal (Royle, Jour. Royal Asiatic Soc., VII, 193-213) to identify the caper (Capparis spinosa) with hyssop, which has been popularized by the works of Tristram, has not much to recommend it. It is true that the caper is very commonly seen growing out of walls all over Palestine (1 Kings 4:33), but in no other respect is it suitable to the requirements of the Biblical references. The supposed similarity between the Arabic 'acaf ("caper") and the Hebrew 'ezobh is fanciful; the caper with its stiff, prickly stems and smooth, flat leaves would not furnish a bunch for sprinkling as serviceable as many species of zat`ar. It has been specially urged that the hyssop suits the conditions of John 19:29, it being maintained that a stem of caper would make a good object on which to raise the "sponge full of vinegar" to the Saviour's face, the equivalent of the "reed" of Matthew 27:48 Mark 15:36. For such a purpose the flexible, prickly stems of the hyssop would be most unsuitable; indeed, it would be no easy matter to find one of sufficient length. It is necessary to suppose either that a bunch of hyssop accompanied the sponge with the vinegar upon the reed, or, as has been proposed by several writers (for references see article "Hyssop," EB), that hussopo is a corruption of husso, "javelin," and that the passage should read "They put a sponge full of vinegar upon a javelin."
E. W. G. Masterman |  | Multi-Version Concordance Hyssop (12 Occurrences) John 19:29 Now a vessel full of vinegar was set there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop, and held it at his mouth. (WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Hebrews 9:19 For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, (WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Exodus 12:22 You shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Leviticus 14:4 then the priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansed two living clean birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Leviticus 14:6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Leviticus 14:49 To cleanse the house he shall take two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Leviticus 14:51 He shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Leviticus 14:52 He shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, with the living bird, with the cedar wood, with the hyssop, and with the scarlet; (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Numbers 19:6 and the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Numbers 19:18 and a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, and on all the vessels, and on the persons who were there, and on him who touched the bone, or the slain, or the dead, or the grave: (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) 1 Kings 4:33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, and of birds, and of creeping things, and of fish. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Psalms 51:7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) |
