H1736 H1736
Mandrakes—the aromatic fruit of Mandragora officinarum, believed to promote fertility and desire; once used for 'baskets' in Jer 24:1.
Almost always referring to the mandrake plant (Mandragora officinarum), whose fragrant, fleshy fruit was prized in the ancient Near East as an aphrodisiac and fertility aid. The word enters the biblical narrative memorably in Genesis 30:14-16, where Reuben finds mandrakes in the wheat harvest and Rachel bargains with Leah for them, hoping they will help her conceive. Song of Songs 7:14 celebrates their intoxicating fragrance. German 'Liebesapfel' (love-apple) beautifully captures the folk belief embedded in the Hebrew. One occurrence in Jeremiah 24:1 appears to be a homographic form meaning 'baskets,' likely from a separate root.
1. mandrakes, love-apples — The mandrake plant or its fruit, associated with love and fertility. In Genesis 30:14-16, Reuben gathers mandrakes during the wheat harvest and Rachel negotiates with Leah for them—an episode rich with the ancient belief that mandrakes promote conception. Song of Songs 7:14 invokes their scent as an image of romantic desire. The multilingual evidence is remarkably consistent: Spanish 'mandragoras,' French 'mandragores,' and German 'Liebesapfel' (love-apple) all preserve the plant identification and its erotic connotation. 6×
AR["اللُّفَّاحُ","بِلُفَّاحِ","لُفَّاحًا","لُفَّاحَ","لُفَّاحِ","مِنْ-لُفَّاحِ"]·ben["-দুদাইম-ফুল","মেন্ড্রেক","মেন্ড্রেক-থেকে","মেন্ড্রেকের","মেন্ড্রেকের-বিনিময়ে"]·DE["Liebesäpfel","[הדודאים]","die-Liebesäpfel","um-die-Liebesäpfel","von-den-Liebesäpfeln"]·EN["from-mandrakes-of","mandrakes","mandrakes-of","the-mandrakes","with-mandrakes-of"]·FR["Les-mandragores","avec-mandragores-de","de-mandragores-de","mandragores","mandragores-de"]·heb["ב-דודאי","דודאי","דודאים","ה-דודאים","מ-דודאי"]·HI["दूदाइम","दूदाइम-के","दूदाइम-से","दूदें"]·ID["-Buah-buah-dudaim","buah dudaim","dari-buah dudaim","dengan-buah dudaim"]·IT["con-mandrakes-di","da-mandrakes-di","il-il-mandrakes","mandrakes","mandrakes-di"]·jav["Mandragora","dudaim","mawi-dudaim","saking-dudaim"]·KO["그-자귀풀들-이","에-대한-합환채로","에서의-합환채를","합환채를"]·PT["As-mandrágoras","de-mandrágoras-de","mandrágoras","mandrágoras-de","pelas-mandrágoras-de"]·RU["Мандрагоры","за-мандрагоры","из-мандрагор","мандрагоры"]·ES["Las-mandrágoras","con-mandrágoras-de","de-mandrágoras-de","mandrágoras","mandrágoras-de"]·SW["kutoka-matunda-ya-mapenzi","kwa-matunda-ya-mapenzi","matunda-ya-mapenzi","matunguja"]·TR["aşk-otları","aşk-otlarından","aşk-otlarını","aşk-otlarının","aşk-otlarıyla","dudaim"]·urd["دودائیم","لففاحیاں","لففاحیوں","لففاحیوں-سے","لففاحیوں-میں-سے","لففاحیں"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. baskets (homographic or contextual variant) — A rare homographic form appearing only in Jeremiah 24:1, where the consonantal spelling dudaey is used in the construct 'baskets of figs' rather than 'mandrakes.' English 'baskets-of,' Spanish 'cestas-de,' and Arabic cognates converge on a container meaning here. BDB treats this as a form related to dud (H1731, pot/basket) rather than the mandrake word, and the context—a prophetic vision of fig baskets before the temple—confirms the container sense. 1×
AR["سَلَّتَيْ-"]·ben["ঝুড়ি"]·DE["[דודאי]"]·EN["baskets-of"]·FR["[דודאי]"]·heb["סלי"]·HI["टोकरियाँ"]·ID["keranjang"]·IT["[דודאי]"]·jav["kranjang"]·KO["의-바구니"]·PT["cestos-de-"]·RU["корзины"]·ES["cestas-de"]·SW["vya-"]·TR["sepet"]·urd["ٹوکریاں"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [דּוּדַי] n.m. Gn 30:14 mandrake (as love-producing, cf. Di Gn 30:14)—pl. דּוּדָאִים cf. Ew189 g Sta§§ 301. 122) Gn 30:14 Ct 7:14; cstr. דּוּדָאֵי Gn 30:14 + 3 times;—mandrakes, as exciting sexual desire, and favouring procreation Gn 30:14(×2), 15(×2), 16 (J); also Ct 7:14 where odour referred to. On דּוּדָאֵי Je 24:1 vessels, baskets, v. דּוּד.