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Wormwood
WORMWOOD (לַעֲנָה, H4360; ἄψινθος, G952). The Gr. word apsinthos really means “undrinkable,” and yet absinthe is one of the most popular aperitifs in France! It certainly has a most objectionable taste to the uninitiated. This is the plant Artemesia absinthium; it is a herbaceous perennial which bears masses of small, yellow flowers. The alcoholic drink is now manufactured in Jordania.
Wormwood is mentioned seven times in the OT and twice in the NT, in the same verse (
The wormwood has come to be used symbolically to describe sorrow, calamity, and even cruelty.
There are two other species grown in Pal.—Artemesia herba-alba, which has a camphor scent and is extremely bitter, and Artemesia judaica. This latter plant was used, and still is in some places, to keep the maggots or moths away from woolen garments. The dried plants are laid in between them.