rose of Sharon
{{Short description|Common name of different flowering plants with biblical origin}}
{{other uses|Rose of Sharon (disambiguation)}}
File:Rose of sharon.JPG, here seen in bloom.]]
Rose of Sharon (in Hebrew: חֲבַצֶּלֶת הַשָּׁרוֹן) is a biblical expression, though the identity of the plant referred to is unclear and is disputed among biblical scholars. It has become a common name for several species of flowering plants that are valued in different parts of the world. In no case does it refer to actual roses. The name's varied colloquial application has been used as an example of the lack of precision of common names, which can potentially cause confusion.[http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/plant_info/identifying_plants/plant_names_and_classification Botanic Gardens Trust, Sydney, Australia: Why use a scientific name?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905141645/http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/plant_info/identifying_plants/plant_names_and_classification|date=2015-09-05}}
Biblical origins
The name "Rose of Sharon" first appears in Hebrew in the Tanakh. In the Shir Hashirim ('Song of Songs') 2:1, the speaker (the beloved) says, "I am the rose of Sharon, a rose of the valley". The Hebrew phrase {{langx|hbo|{{Script/Hebrew|חבצלת השרון}}|ḥăḇaṣṣeleṯ haššārōn}} was translated by the editors of the King James Version (KJV) as "rose of Sharon"; however, previous translations had rendered it simply as "the flower of the field" (Septuagint {{lang|grc|ἐγὼ ἄνθος τοῦ πεδίου}},[http://en.katabiblon.com/us/index.php?text=LXX&book=Cant&ch=2 Song 2:1], Septuagint Vulgate {{lang|la|ego flos campi}},[http://www.latinvulgate.com/lv/verse.aspx?t=0&b=24&c=2 Song 2:1]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712182544/http://www.latinvulgate.com/lv/verse.aspx?t=0&b=24&c=2 |date=2020-07-12 }}, Vulgate Wycliffe "a flower of the field").[http://www.biblestudytools.com/wyc/song-of-solomon/2.html Song 2:1], Wycliffe Contrariwise, the Hebrew word {{transliteration|hbo|ḥăḇaṣṣeleṯ}} occurs two times in the scriptures: in the Song, and in Isaiah 35:1, which reads, "the desert shall bloom like the rose." The word is translated "rose" in the KJV, but is rendered variously as "lily" (Septuagint {{lang|grc|κρίνον}},[http://en.katabiblon.com/us/index.php?text=LXX&book=Is&ch=35 Is 35:1], Septuagint Vulgate {{lang|la|lilium}},[http://www.latinvulgate.com/lv/verse.aspx?t=0&b=27&c=35 Is 35:1]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712182743/http://www.latinvulgate.com/lv/verse.aspx?t=0&b=27&c=35 |date=2020-07-12 }}, Vulgate Wycliffe "lily"),[http://www.biblestudytools.com/wyc/isaiah/35.html Is 35:1], Wycliffe "jonquil" (Jerusalem Bible) and "crocus" (RSV).
Varying scholars have suggested that the biblical "rose of Sharon" may be one of the following plants:
- A crocus: "a kind of crocus growing as a lily among the brambles" ("Sharon", Harper's Bible Dictionary) or a crocus that grows in the coastal plain of Sharon (New Oxford Annotated Bible);
- A tulip: "a bright red tulip-like flower{{nbsp}}[...] today prolific in the hills of Sharon" "rose", Harper's Bible Dictionary);
- Tulipa agenensis, the Sharon tulip, a species of tulip suggested by a few botanists, or;
- Tulipa montana{{cite web|title=Rose of Sharon|url=http://www.flowersinisrael.com/RoseofSharon_page.htm|website=www.flowersinisrael.com|access-date=16 April 2020}}
- A lily: Lilium candidum, more commonly known as the Madonna lily, a species of lily suggested by some botanists, though likely in reference to the lilies of the valley mentioned in the second part of Song of Solomon 2:1.{{Citation needed|date=June 2014}}
- Narcissus ("rose", Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature){{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1rUqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA128|last1=McClintock|first1=John|last2=Strong|first2=James|title=Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature |volume=IX RH–ST|date=1889|publisher=Harper & Brothers|location=New York|chapter=Rose|page=128|access-date=8 October 2014}}
According to an annotation of Song of Solomon 2:1 by the translation committee of the New Revised Standard Version, "rose of Sharon" is a mistranslation of a more general Hebrew word for crocus.{{Citation needed|date=June 2014}}
Etymologists have tentatively linked the biblical {{lang|hbo|{{Script/Hebrew|חבצלת}}}} to the words {{langx|hbo|{{Script/Hebrew|בצל}}|beṣel}}, meaning 'bulb', and {{langx|hbo|{{Script/Hebrew|חמץ}}|ḥāmaṣ}}, which is understood as meaning either 'pungent' or 'splendid' (The Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon).
A possible interpretation for the biblical reference is Pancratium maritimum, which blooms in the late summer just above the high-tide mark. The modern Hebrew name for this flower is {{lang|he|חבצלת}} or {{lang|he|חבצלת החוף}} ({{transliteration|he|ḥăḇaṣṣeleṯ}} or {{transliteration|he|ḥăḇaṣṣeleṯ haḥōf}}, coastal lily). Some identify this flower with the "rose of Sharon" mentioned in the Song of Songs, but not all scholars accept this.[http://www.wildflowers.co.il/hebrew/plant.asp?ID=140 Coastal Lily] at wildflowers.co.il {{in lang|he}}
Recently, some scholars have translated {{transliteration|hbo|ḥăḇaṣṣeleṯ}} as 'a budding bulb' in consideration of the genealogical research of multilingual versions and lexicons.{{Cite thesis |last=Mizota |first=Satoshi |date=January 2008 |title=Origin of "Rose of Sharon": An Analysis of Various Translations Having a Bearing on The Authorized Version Text |url=http://ir.lib.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/metadb/up/diss/MizotaSatoshi_Origin-of-Rose-of-Sharon.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222054928/http://ir.lib.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/metadb/up/diss/MizotaSatoshi_Origin-of-Rose-of-Sharon.pdf |archive-date=2014-02-22 |type=M.A. |location=Nagoya, Japan |publisher=Aichi University |access-date=22 November 2024}}
Modern usage
File:Hypericum calycinum Tasmania.jpg|Hypericum calycinum
File:Hibiscus Syriacus.JPG|Hibiscus syriacus
File:Rose of Sharon - double bloom.jpg|Hibiscus syriacus double bloom
File:Rose of Sharon or Althea -- Hibiscus syriacus.jpg|Rose of Sharon or althaea
The name "rose of Sharon" is also commonly applied to several horticultural plants,[https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/Search-Results?query=rose%20of%20Sharon Rose of Sharon] at rhs.org.uk all originating outside the Levant and not likely to have been the plant from the Bible:
- Hypericum calycinum, the usual plant known by this name in British English. It is an evergreen flowering shrub native to southeast Europe and southwest Asia.
- Hibiscus syriacus, the usual plant known by this name in North America. It is a deciduous flowering shrub native to east Asia, and the national flower of South Korea (also known as "Mugunghwa"{{cite web|url=http://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Culture/view?articleId=143976|title=Korea's national flower|author=Kim Yoon|date=2020-04-25}} and "Althaea").{{Cite web |title=The National Flower - Mugunghwa |url=https://www.mois.go.kr/eng/sub/a03/nationalSymbol_3/screen.do#:~:text=The%20mugunghwa%2C%20or%20the%20rose,a%20%E2%80%9Cblossom%20from%20heaven%E2%80%9D. |access-date=July 12, 2024 |website=Ministry of the Interior and Safety}}{{cite web |title=Hibiscus syriacus: Rose-of-sharon, Shrub Althea |url=https://plantdatabase.uconn.edu/detail.php?pid=204 |access-date=18 February 2024 |website=University Of Connecticut Plant Database}}
- Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (var. 'Vulcan'), the national flower of Malaysia.
As a human name
Rose of Sharon, pronounced "Rosasharn," is occasionally a personal name. Most famously, a character named Rose of Sharon Joad appears in John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath.
Citations
{{reflist|30em}}
General and cited references
- {{cite book|last=Crawford|first=P. L.|chapter=Rose|title=Harper's Bible Dictionary|page=884|editor=Paul J. Achtemeier (gen. ed.)|publisher=Harper|location=San Francisco|year=1995}}
- {{cite book|last=Davidson|first=Benjamin|title=The Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon|year=1978|publisher=Zondervan|location=Grand Rapids, Michigan|isbn=0-310-39891-6|orig-year=1848|edition=1st softcover|page=246}}
- {{cite book|last=Lapp|first=N. L.|chapter=Sharon|title=Harper's Bible Dictionary|pages=933–4|editor=Paul J. Achtemeier (gen. ed.)|publisher=Harper|location=San Francisco|year=1985}}
- {{cite book|last=Scott|first=R. B. Y.|chapter=Annotations to Song of Solomon|title=The New Oxford Annotated Bible|pages=854 OT|location=New York|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1991}}
- {{cite book|ref={{harvid|Yu|2008}}|last1=Yu|first1=Myŏng-jong|last2=Lee|first2=Ji-Hye|last3=Chŏn|first3=Sŏng-yŏng|title=100 Cultural Symbols of Korea: 100 windows showcasing Korea|date=2008|publisher=Discovery Media|location=Seoul |edition=First}}