Nov.5] SOCIETYOF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1889.
THETREEANDFRUIT REPRESENTEDBY THE
TAPPUAKH(Pnsri) OF THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES.By the Rev. W. Houghton, M.A.,F.L.S.,&c.Few Biblical plant-names havegiven rise to more discussion
than the tappuakh, rendered "apple" in our Version; there is
somedifficultyin selecting any fruit-tree whichwill answerall the
Biblicalrequirements. The Hebrew word occurs in Cant, ii, 3,
" as the tappuakh amongthe trees of the thicket ("1JT)ya'ar,so is my
belovedamongthe sons ; I rejoiced andsat down underits shadow,
and its fruit waspleasant (jTinQ)mathokto my palate;" in Cant
ii, 5, the Shulamite says," Sustain ye me with raisin-cakes(rnt^tTN)
ashts/wth,refreshme withtappukhim,for sick with loveam I ;" in vii, 8,
Solomonis represented as saying to the Shulamite, " May the smell
of thy breath be like tappukhim." In Cant, viii, 5, the Shulamite
says," underthe tappuakh I aroused thee; there thy mother was in
travailwiththee... and broughttheeforth." Thetappuakh
is mentioned in Joel i, 12, with othertreesinjuredby locusts; and
in Prov. xxv, n, we read that"a word fitly spoken is like golden
tappukhimin silver baskets." TheBiblicalrequirements, I think,
maybe reduced to two only, viz. : that the fruitshouldbe pleasant to
the palate, and possess a sweet odour; it is not necessary to discover
a tree whichwould affordanyconsiderableamountof shade ; the
tappuakhwas far superior to other trees,and "to sit under the
shade" may denotenothingmore than<; under its branches." The
expression of golden " apples " in silver basketsmentioned above,
doesnot,I imagine, alludeto the bright palefoliageof any tree con
trastedwith its golden fruit; but to such fruitin manufactured
silverfiligreework(JVStoD) maskith. Thecitron,the quince, the
apple,andthe apricot haveeachbeensuggestedas the tree denoted
by the tappuakh. Theclaimof the citron cannotbe supported. The
citron{Citrus medico)wasobtainedby the Greeks possiblyas early
as the time of Alexander's Asiatic campaign; but it is pretty certain
thatits original home is in Nepaul, andperhapsalsoin China, the
home of the sweet orange,andthe late introduction of the Citrus
42