Pomegranate

Pomegranate - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

I.e., "grained apple" (pomum granatum), Heb. rimmon. Common in Egypt (Num. 20:5) and Palestine (13:23; Deut. 8:8). The Romans called it Punicum malum, i.e., Carthaginian apple, because they received it from Carthage. It belongs to the myrtle family of trees. The withering of the pomegranate tree is mentioned among the judgments of God (Joel 1:12). It is frequently mentioned in the Song of Solomon (Cant. 4:3, 13, etc.). The skirt of the high priest's blue robe and ephod was adorned with the representation of pomegranates, alternating with golden bells (Ex. 28:33, 34), as also were the "chapiters upon the two pillars" (1 Kings 7:20) which "stood before the house."

Pomegranate - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

POMEGRAN'ATE, n. [L. pomum, an apple, and granatum, grained. See Grain and Granate.]

1. The fruit of a tree belonging to the genus Punica. This fruit is as large as an orange, having a hard rind filled with a soft pulp and numerous seeds. It is of a reddish color.

2. The tree that produces pomegranates.

3. An ornament resembling a pomegranate, on the robe and ephod of the Jewish high priest.

pom'-gran-at, pom-gran'-at, pum'-gran-at (rimmon (tree and fruit); the Hebrew name is similar to the Arabic, Aramaic and Ethiopic; rhoa):

1. A Tree Characteristic of Palestine: One of the most attractive and most characteristic of the fruit trees of Syria, probably indigenous to Persia, Afghanistan and the neighborhood of the Caucasus, but introduced to Palestine in very ancient times. The spies brought specimens of figs and pomegranates, along with grapes, from the Vale of Eshcol (Nu 13:23). Vines, figs and pomegranates are mentioned (Nu 20:5) as fruits the Israelites missed in the wilderness; the promised land was to be one "of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates" (De 8:8), a promise renewed in Hag 2:19. In the lamentation in Joe 1:11,12 we have the pomegranate, the palm tree and the apple tree represented as withered, "for joy is withered away from the sons of men."

2. The Fruit:

The pomegranate tree, Punica granatum (Natural Order, Granateae) occurs usually as a shrub or small tree 10-15 ft. high, and is distinguished by its fresh green, oval leaves, which fall in winter, and its brilliant scarlet blossoms (compare So 7:12). The beauty of an orchard of pomegranates is referred to in So 4:13. The fruit which is ripe about September is apple-shaped, yellow-brown with a blush of red, and is surmounted by a crown-like hard calyx; on breaking the hard rind, the white or pinkish, translucent fruits are seen tightly packed together inside. The juicy seeds are sometimes sweet and sometimes somewhat acid, and need sugar for eating. The juice expressed from the seeds is made into a kind of syrup for flavoring drinks, and in ancient days was made into wine: "I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine, of the juice (margin "sweet wine") of my pomegranate" (So 8:2). The beauty of a cut section of pomegranate--or one burst open naturally, when fully ripe--may have given rise to the comparison in So 4:3; 6:7: "Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate." The rind of the pomegranate contains a very high percentage of tannic acid, and is employed both as a medicine and for tanning, particularly in making genuine morocco leather.

Whether the pomegranate tree in Migron under which Saul is said (1Sa 14:2) to have abode with his 600 men was really a tree or a place, Rimmon, is doubtful.

See RIMMON.

3. The Pomegranate in Art:

A large number of references to the pomegranate are to the use of the form of the fruit in ornamentation, in which respect it appears among the Hebrews to have something of the position of the lotus bud as a decorative motive in Egypt. It was embroidered in many colors on the skirts of Aaron's garments, together with golden bells (Ex 28:33 f; 39:24-26 compare Ecclesiasticus 45:9). Hiram of Tyre introduced the pomegranate into his brass work ornamentation in the temple: "So he made the pillars; and there were two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars" (margin "So the Syriac The Hebrew has `pomegranates'") (1Ki 7:18). "And the pomegranates were two hundred, in rows round about upon the other capital" (1Ki 7:20 compare also Ps 7:42; 2Ki 25:17; 2Ch 3:16; 4:13).

E. W. G. Masterman

Definition

A pomegranate is a kind of fruit that has a thick, tough skin filled with many seeds that are covered with edible red pulp.

• The outer rind is reddish in color and the pulp surrounding the seeds is shiny and red.
• Pomegranates are very commonly grown in countries with a hot, dry climate, such as Egypt and Israel.
• Yahweh promised the Israelites that Canaan was a land with abundant water and fertile soil so that food was plentiful there, including pomegranates.
• The construction of Solomon’s temple included bronze decorations in the shape of pomegranates.

(See also: bronze, Canaan, Egypt, Solomon, temple)

Bible References

• 2 Kings 25:16-17
• Deuteronomy 8:7-8
• Jeremiah 52:22-23
• Numbers 13:23-24
• Numbers 20:5

Word Data

• Strong’s: H7416