Mandrakes

(Song 7: 13.) The original name is Dudaim, and is only mentioned in the instance of Reuben finding them in the field, and bringing them to his mother, (See Gen. xxx. 14 - 18.) and in this place of the Canticles. There doth not seem to be any determined fruit meant by those mandrakes; and some have concluded, that they were flowers, such as the jessamine or violet; and the language of the church in saying, that they gave a smell, seems to favour this opinion. Some authors, however, have described peculiar qualities to themandrakes as fruits, not unlike, in their effects on our nature, to what is said of the flocks of Laban, (Gen. xxx. 37, &c.) and have concluded, that it was on this account that Rachel desired them. This, however, is but conjecture. The church describing them as fragrant, and perhaps having an allusion in that view to the fragrancy of higher objects, may be supposed to convey the idea of the sweet - smelling odour of Jesus, and the fruits and graces of his Spirit.

Hebrew Dudaim, Gen 30:14-16 Son 7:13, a plant to which was attributed, probably without reason, the power of rendering barren women fruitful. According to most of the ancient versions, it was the Atropa Mandragora of Linnaeus, a plant of the genus Belladonna, with a root like a beet, white and reddish blossoms, and fragrant yellow apples, which ripen from May to July. But this opinion is uncertain.\par

Mandrakes. (Hebrew, dudraim) Mandrakes are mentioned in Gen 30:14; Gen 30:16, and in Son 7:13. The mandrake, Atropa mandragora, is closely allied to the well-known deadly nightshade, Atropa bellndonna, and to the tomato, and belongs to the order Solanaceae, or potato family. It grows in Palestine and Mesopotamia.

(It grows low, like lettuce, which its leaves somewhat resemble, except that they are of a dark green. The flowers are purple, and the root is usually forked. Its fruit, when ripe, (early in May), is about the size of a small apple, 24 inches in diameter, ruddy or yellow, and of a most agreeable odor, (to Orientals more than to Europeans), and an equally agreeable taste.

The Arabs call it "devil’s apple", from its power to excite voluptuousness. Dr. Richardson, ("Lectures on Alcohol," 1881), tried some experiments with wine made of the root of mandrake, and found it narcotic, causing sleep, so that the ancients used it as an anaesthetic. Used in small quantities like opium, it excites the nerves, and is a stimulant. -- Editor).

The Atropa mandragore, of the order Solanaceae, allied to the deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna); a stupefying narcotic with broad dark green leaves, flowers purple, and green apples which become pale yellow when ripe, with a tuberous bifid (forked) root. Still found ripe in wheat harvest (May) on the lower parts of Lebanon and Hermon (Gen 30:14). The apples produce dizziness and exhilaration. The ancients believed them calculated to produce fecundity. Their Hebrew name, duwdaim, "love apples," agrees with their being used as aphrodisiacs to conciliate love; Rachel had this superstitious notion (Gen 30:14-17). The odor is too strong to be agreeable to Europeans, but Orientals value strong-smelling things; Dioscorides calls the apples "sweet-scented." Son 7:13, "the mandrakes give a smell." The root was fancied to resemble man, and to form a potent magical spell, and to emit a human groan on being torn from the ground!

Mandrakes (Heb. love plants). Modern Bible scholars apply this name to a member of the potato family (Mandragora officinalis). This is a stemless plant with a disk of leaves almost as long, but not nearly as broad, as those of the garden rhubarb, which it somewhat resembles, except in its blossoms. The odor of the plant seems to be enjoyed by Orientals, Son 7:13, and by some Occidentals. Many strange superstitions are connected with this plant, and the idea of Rachel’s time still prevails that conception is ensured by eating the fruit of this plant. Gen 30:14-16.

dudaim. Some strong-smelling plant found in the fields of Palestine. Many opinions have been expressed as to what herb is referred to. It is possibly the Mandragora officinarum, called the ’love apple,’ a relative to the ’apple of Sodom.’ The Atropa mandragora is another species. Gen 30:14-16; Son 7:13.

man´drāks (דּוּדאים, dūdhā’ı̄m; μανδραγόπας, mandragóras (Gen 30:14 f; Son 7:13); the marginal reading “love apples” is due to the supposed connection of dūdhā’ı̄m with דּודים, dōdhı̄m, “love”): Mandrakes are the fruit of the Mandragora officinarum, a member of the Solanaceae or potato order, closely allied to the Atropa belladonna. It is a common plant all over Palestine, flourishing particularly in the spring and ripening about the time of the wheat harvest (Gen 30:14). The plant has a rosette of handsome dark leaves, dark purple flowers and orange, tomato-like fruit. The root is long and branched; to pull it up is still considered unlucky (compare Josephus, BJ, VII, vi, 3). The fruit is called in Arabic baiḍ el-jinn, the “eggs of the jinn”; they have a narcotic smell and sweetish taste, but are too poisonous to be used as food. They are still used in folklore medicine in Palestine. The plant was well known as an aphrodisiac by the ancients (Son 7:13).