Talmudic plant-lists (1)

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In the Babylonian Talmud we find some general discussions of descriptions of plants as materia medica, particularly when attempting to identify a Hebrew term with its Aramaic equivalent. An example, from Shab. 109b, equates Hebrew ˀzwb (hyssop?) with Aramaic ˀbrtˀ br hmg, var. ˀbrtˀ br hyng, or marjoram (šwmšwq). Such descriptions of plants may resemble the canonical Akkadian plant lists known as Uruanna, in which the plants listed in the left-hand column are briefly described or explained in the right-hand column. Similarly, in Chul. 59a, the Gemara asks, what is tyˁh (= a plant)? The answer is a root of ‘bitter plant’ (ˁyqrˀ dmryrtˀ). Another example occurs in Chul. 58a, which explains in Aramaic the Hebrew plant name ḥltyt as a substance that can bore through to the bowels, and in fact, if one eats three shekels of ḥltyt on an empty stomach (ˀlybˀ ryqnˀ), his skin (mškyh) will be stripped. Ingesting drugs on an empty stomach is a frequent requirement of Babylonian therapy.

Sources (list of abbreviations) (source links will open in a new browser window)
Babylonian Talmud, Chulin 58a
Babylonian Talmud, Chulin 59a
Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 109b

Bibliography

Mark Geller

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