BRAMBLE (אָטָד֒, H353, buckthorn; brambles; חﯴחַ֒, H2560, thornbush; bramble bush—ἡ βάτος).

The brambles mentioned in Scripture are definitely not the types that give bramble jelly today. In Pal. they could be pernicious weeds. Botanists believe that there were prob. two brambles involved, Rubus sanctus—the normal Palestinian bramble, and Rubus ulmifolius—the elm leaf bramble. These are both evergreen shrubs, with prickly stems, which spread by means of underground roots and suckers—like raspberries today. The leaves have woolly, white undersurfaces. The flowers may be pink, white or purple, and the fruits are black and round. In the Holy Land, such brambles grow well in thickets and near water.

The Heb. word ḥôah, tr. “bramble” is prob. a thistle (Isa 34:13 KJV).

The bramble in Judges 9:14 may be buckthorn, as the Heb. word is ’āṭād.