Hebrew word · H6170

עֲרוּגָה

ka'arugat

bed

ʿărûgâ: a raised or terraced planting bed (Ezek 17:7, 10). bōśem/beśem: balsam, fragrant spice or perfume. It covers both the aromatic plants and the oils made from them. It was a luxury good of royal gift and trade (1 Kgs 10:2, 10, the Queen of Sheba; Exod 30:23, the holy anointing oil).

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

garden terrace or bed

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Song of Songs 6:2

Range of meaning

ʿărûgâ: a raised or terraced planting bed (Ezek 17:7, 10). bōśem/beśem: balsam, fragrant spice or perfume. It covers both the aromatic plants and the oils made from them. It was a luxury good of royal gift and trade (1 Kgs 10:2, 10, the Queen of Sheba; Exod 30:23, the holy anointing oil).

Against the English

"Spices" now suggests the kitchen: pepper, cinnamon, cooking. The Hebrew points to perfume, fragrant resins and aromatic plants grown for their scent and for anointing.

How it drifted

Modern English "spice" moved mainly toward cooking. In older English it also covered perfumes and aromatic drugs.

Used elsewhere in the period

Song 4:10, 14, 16; 5:1 ("I have gathered my myrrh with my spice"); 5:13 ("his cheeks are like beds of spice"); 8:14 ("mountains of spices"). The Septuagint has "bowls of perfume" at 5:13 and 6:2, and Josephus describes the prized balsam plantations near Jericho and En-gedi.

Where it appears

Song of Songs · 2

  1. Song of Songs 5:13 כַּעֲרוּגַ֣ת [are] like [the] bed of

    His cheeks are like beds of spice, towers of perfume. His lips are like lilies, dripping with flowing myrrh.

  2. Song of Songs 6:2 לַעֲרוּג֖וֹת to [the] beds of

    My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens and to gather lilies.

    Here: Raised or terraced planting beds, carefully tended. The same phrase, "beds of spice", describes his cheeks in 5:13, so the garden language keeps passing back and forth between landscape and body.

Ezekiel · 2

  1. Ezekiel 17:7 מֵעֲרֻג֖וֹת from [the] beds of

    But there was another great eagle with great wings and many feathers. And behold, this vine bent its roots toward him. It stretched out its branches to him from its planting bed, so that he might water it.

  2. Ezekiel 17:10 עֲרֻגֹ֥ת [the] beds of

    Even if it is transplanted, will it flourish? Will it not completely wither when the east wind strikes? It will wither on the bed where it sprouted.’”

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.