Flowers in Israel – ישראל פרחים תמונות

The name “pomegranate” derives from Latin pomum (apple) and granatus (“seed-apple”).A separate, widespread root for “pomegranate” is the Egyptian and Semitic rmn. Attested in Ancient Egyptian, in Hebrew Rimon, and in Arabic rummân, this root was brought by Arabic to a number of languages.

In many European languages, the weapon shell has names similar to granate. These derive from the same Latin word granum “grain”, attested in 1532, from the French name for the fruit (pome) grenade.The reference is to the many fragments resulting from the detonation of a shell. Remarkably, also in Hebrew the word rimon [רימון] may mean both “pomegranate fruit” and “shell”.

In a Homeric Hymn, Persephone, daughter of Ceres, the Goddess of growth and abundance, was forced to spend four months of each year in the underworld, because Pluto forced her to eat the seed of the pomegranate, when she was held captive in the underworld. The period of time in which this would take place is during winter, with spring heralding the return to the world aboveground.

In Christianity the Pomegranate is the symbol of the Resurrection of Jesus after its classical association with Persephone (Persephone is the equivalent of the Roman goddess Proserpine, an ancient Roman goddess), a life-death-rebirth deity.The many seeds contained in its tough case made it also a symbol of the unity of the many under one authority, and of chastity.

Jewish tradition teaches that the pomegranate is a symbol for righteousness, because it is said to have 613 seeds which corresponds with the 613 mitzvot or commandments of the Torah. For this reason and others many Jews eat pomegranates on Rosh Hashanah.

Of the seven species in Deut. 8:8, Punica granatum L. (Punicaceae) may be the most beautiful. Pomegranates figure prominently in three places in Scripture: the garment of the high priest (Exod. 28:33), as a garland on the temple pillars, and in the Song of Songs. Solomon’s temple had four hundred pomegranates engraved on the capitals of the two pillars located at the front of the temple (1 Kings 7:42; 2 Chron. 4:13). These pomegranates are also mentioned in Jer. 52:22–23.In Song of Songs 4:3 and 6:7, the red interior of the fruit is likened to the temples of the Beloved. These are the only biblical references to the red, juicy seeds of the pomegranate. The unique seed coat in pomegranate is fleshy and is widely used in the Middle East to prepare a pleasantly sour, refreshing drink. This may be the meaning in Song of Songs 8:2 while Song of Songs 6:11 and 7:12 refer to the attractive bell-shaped flower.