Bible Dictionary
Thistle
Thistle denotes various thorny or prickly plants mentioned in Scripture, especially weeds that grow in cultivated ground or represent desolation. The term includes plants translated “brier,” “brambles,” or “thorns.”
Definition
Thistle is a general designation for various prickly or thorny plants. Scripture uses related terms for plants translated thistle, brier, brambles, or thorn, including weeds that grow among cultivated fields.
Biblical Usage
Thorny plants appear in descriptions of the ground, luxuriant growth, and judgment. The New Testament uses the image of briers and thistles in teaching about what a plant produces and in warning about unfruitful ground.
Historical Background
The Hebrew terms may refer to different plants, including wild plum or star-thistle. The star-thistle was a common weed in cornfields and was known for its three-pointed form.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(1.) Heb. hoah (2 Kings 14:9; Job 31:40). In Job 41:2 the Hebrew word is rendered “thorn,” but in the Revised Version “hook.” It is also rendered “thorn” in 2 Chr. 33:11; Prov. 26:9; Cant. 2:2; “brambles” in Isa. 34:13. It is supposed to be a variety of the wild plum-tree, but by some it is regarded as the common thistle, of which there are many varieties in Palestine. (2.) Heb. dardar, meaning “a plant growing luxuriantly” (Gen. 3:18; Hos. 10:8); Gr. tribolos, “a triple point” (Matt. 7:16; Heb. 6:8, “brier,” R.V. “thistle”). This was probably the star-thistle, called by botanists Centaurea calcitropa, or “caltrops,” a weed common in corn-fields. (See THORNS.)
Smith's Bible Dictionary
[Thorns AND THISTLES]