H0329 H0329
A thorny bramble bush (rhamnus); also Atad, the place name of a threshing floor beyond the Jordan.
Refers to a prickly shrub or thornbush, most memorably cast as the unlikely and dangerous king in Jotham's fable (Judg 9:14-15), where the olive, fig, and vine all decline rulership but the lowly bramble eagerly accepts — and threatens fire. The same thorny bush appears in Ps 58:9 as quick-burning fuel. As a place name, it designates the threshing floor of Atad (Gen 50:10-11), east of the Jordan, where Joseph's funeral procession mourned Jacob for seven days. Spanish 'espino' and 'zarza' both capture the thorny character, while the shift to a proper noun in Genesis is consistent across all translations.
Senses
1. thornbush, bramble (plant) — A thorny shrub or bramble, identified with the genus Rhamnus (buckthorn). In Jotham's fable (Judg 9:14-15) it personifies the worthless and dangerous ruler: when the noble trees refused, the bramble accepted kingship and threatened fire. Psalm 58:9 uses it as fast-burning fuel in a vivid image of sudden destruction. Cognates across Aramaic (אַטְדָּא), Arabic (aṭad), and Akkadian (eṭidu) confirm the botanical identification. 4×
AR["الشَّوكَ", "الـ-عَوْسَج"]·ben["কাঁটা", "কাঁটা-ঝোপ", "কাঁটা-ঝোপের"]·DE["der-thornbush"]·EN["the-thornbush"]·FR["buisson-d'épines", "le-thornbush"]·heb["אטד", "ה-אטד"]·HI["कंटीली-झाड़ी", "कंटीली-झाड़ीने", "काँटा"]·ID["semak-duri"]·IT["[אטד]", "il-thornbush"]·jav["grumbul-eri", "mlampah"]·KO["가시나무-를", "찐레나무", "찐레나무-가"]·PT["espinheiro", "espinho", "o-espinheiro"]·RU["терновник", "тёрн", "тёрна", "тёрну"]·ES["espino", "la-zarza"]·SW["kichaka-cha-miiba", "miba"]·TR["diken", "diken-e", "dikenden", "dikenler"]·urd["کانٹا", "کانٹے-دار-جھاڑی", "کانٹے-دار-جھاڑی-نے"]
2. Atad (place name) — The proper place name Atad, appearing only in the phrase 'threshing floor of Atad' (גֹּרֶן הָאָטָד, Gen 50:10-11). This site beyond the Jordan served as the location of a seven-day mourning for Jacob during his funeral procession from Egypt to Canaan. Though etymologically linked to the bramble, it functions as a fixed toponym in every translation — Spanish 'el Atad,' French 'le Atad' — with no botanical sense retained. 2×
AR["الْأَطَادِ"]·ben["আটাদের"]·DE["des-Atad"]·EN["the-Atad"]·FR["le-Atad"]·heb["האטד"]·HI["आटाद-का", "आटाद-के"]·ID["-Atad"]·IT["il-Atad"]·jav["ri"]·KO["그-가시나무의"]·PT["ha'Atad"]·RU["Атада"]·ES["el-Atad"]·SW["ya-Atadi"]·TR["-Atad'ın"]·urd["آطاد-کے"]
Related Senses
H3754 1. vineyard, cultivated grape plot (92×)H0730 1. cedar tree or wood (73×)H1612 1. vine, grapevine (55×)H3293a 1. forest, wood, thicket (55×)H5560 1. fine flour (53×)H5193 1. plant vegetation (48×)H2232 1. sow seed, plant crops (41×)H1715 1. grain, cereal crop (40×)H7114b 1. reap, harvest grain (36×)H2132 1. olive tree (34×)H8184 1. barley (34×)H2406 1. wheat (grain crop) (30×)H7070 1. reed, cane (plant) (30×)H7848 1. acacia (28×)H8328 1. root of a plant (28×)H8384 1. fig tree (25×)H5488 1. reeds, rushes (in 'Sea of Reeds') (24×)G0290 1. a vineyard (23×)G2325 1. reap, harvest a crop (21×)G4687 1. sow seed, plant (21×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† אָטָד n.m. Ju 9:15 bramble, buck-thorn (cf. Che ψ 58:10) (rhamnus, Arabic أَطَد, Assyrian eṭidu v. DlW, No. 153, Aramaic אַטְדָּא, ܐܛܕܐ cf. Löw No. 15) contr. עֵצִים Ju 9:14, 15(×2) (personif., in fable); ψ 58:10 as fuel (in fig., cf. Che); בְּגֹרֶן הָא׳, n.loc., Gn 50:10, 11 (v. גֹּרֶן & אבל מצרים).