Gourd

1. Kikayan only in (Jonah 4:6-10) The plant which is intended by this word, and which afforded shade to the prophet Jonah before Nineveh, is the Ricinus commnunis , or castor-oil plant, which, a native of Asia, is now naturalized in America, Africa and the south of Europe. This plant varies considerably n size, being in India a tree, but in England seldom attaining a greater height than three or four feet. The leaves are large and palmate, with serrated lobes, and would form un excellent shelter for the sun-stroken prophet. The seeds contain the oil so well known under the name of "castor oil," which has for ages been in high repute as a medicine. It is now thought by many that the plant meant is a vine of the cucumber family, a gemline gourd, which is much used for shade in the East.
2. The wild gourd of (2 Kings 4:39) which one of "the sons of the prophets" gathered ignorantly, supposing them to be good for food, is a poisonous gourd, supposed to be the colocynth, which bears a fruit of the color and size of an orange, with a hard, woody shell. As several varieties of the same family, such as melons, pumpkins, etc., are favorite articles of refreshing food amongst the Orientals, we can easily understand the cause of the mistake.

Gourd

It has been supposed that Jonah's gourd was the Ricinus Communis, or castor-oil plant. It grows in the East to the height of eight to twelve feet, and one species much higher. Its leaves are large, and have six or seven divisions, whence its name of Palma Christi. Since, however, it is now known that in the vicinity of the ancient Nineveh, a plant of the gourd kind is commonly trained to run over structures of mud and brush, to form booths in which the gardeners may protect themselves from the terrible beams of he Asiatic sun, this goes far to show that this vine, called in the Arabic ker-a, is the true gourd of Jonah. If the expression, "which came up in a night," Jonah 4:10, is to be understood literally, it indicates that God "prepared" the gourd, Jonah 4:6, by miraculously quickening its natural growth.

The WILD GOURD is a poisonous plant, conjectured to mean the colocynth, which has a cucumber-like vine, with several branches, and bears a fruit of the size and color of an orange, with a hard, woody shell, within which is the white meat or pulp, exceedingly bitter, and a drastic purgative, 2 Kings 4:39. It was very inviting to the eye, and furnished a model for the carved "knops" of cedar in Solomon's temple, 1 Kings 6:18 7:24.

(1.) Jonah's gourd (Jonah 4:6-10), bearing the Hebrew name kikayon (found only here), was probably the kiki of the Egyptians, the croton. This is the castor-oil plant, a species of ricinus, the palma Christi, so called from the palmate division of its leaves. Others with more probability regard it as the cucurbita the el-keroa of the Arabs, a kind of pumpkin peculiar to the East. "It is grown in great abundance on the alluvial banks of the Tigris and on the plain between the river and the ruins of Nineveh." At the present day it is trained to run over structures of mud and brush to form boots to protect the gardeners from the heat of the noon-day sun. It grows with extraordinary rapidity, and when cut or injured withers away also with great rapidity.

(2.) Wild gourds (2 Kings 4:38-40), Hebrews pakkuoth, belong to the family of the cucumber-like plants, some of which are poisonous. The species here referred to is probably the colocynth (Cucumis colocynthus). The LXX. render the word by "wild pumpkin." It abounds in the desert parts of Syria, Egypt, and Arabia. There is, however, another species, called the Cucumis prophetarum, from the idea that it afforded the gourd which "the sons of the prophets" shred by mistake into their pottage.

1. (n.) A melon, pumpkin, squash, or a drinking vessel cut out of its rind; a fleshy, three-celled, many-seeded fruit, as the melon, pumpkin, cucumber, etc., of the order Cucurbitaceae; and especially the bottle gourd (Lagenaria vulgaris) which occurs in a great variety of forms, and, when the interior part is removed, serves for bottles, dippers, cups, and other dishes.

2. (n.) A dipper or other vessel made from the shell of a gourd; hence, a drinking vessel; a bottle.

3. (n.) A false die. See Gord.

4. (n.) Alt. of Gourde

GOURD

gord, goord (qiqayon): The Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) has hedera ("ivy"), which is impossible. Philologically qiqayon appears to be connected with kiki, which was the Egyptian name for the castor oil plant (Ricinus communis). This grows plentifully all over the Orient, and under favorable conditions may reach a height of 10 to 15 ft.; its larger leaves afford a grateful shade. The requirements of the narrative in Jonah 4:6 are, however, much more suitably met by the "bottle gourd" (Cucurbita lagenaria), the Arab qar`ah. This is a creeping, vinelike plant which may frequently be seen trained over the rough temporary sun-shelters erected in fields or by the roadside in Palestine and Mesopotamia.

E. W. G. Masterman

GOURD, WILD

wild (paqqu`oth sadheh, 2 Kings 4:39): The root paqa`, means "to split" or "burst open," and on this ground these "wild gourds" have been identified with the fruit of the squirting cucumber (Ecballium elaterium). This little gourd, 1 1/2 to 2 inches long, when fully ripe falls suddenly when touched or shaken, the bitter, irritating juice is squirted to a considerable distance, and the seeds are thrown all around. It is exceedingly common in Palestine, and its familiar poisonous properties, as a drastic cathartic, made it unlikely that under any circumstances its fruit could be mistaken for any edible gourd; it is, too, in no way vinelike ("wild vine," 2 Kings 4:39) in appearance; the stem is stiff and upright, and there are no tendrils. The traditional plant, Cucumis prophetarium, which grows in the desert, and has very small "gourds," has nothing really to recommend it. By far the most probable plant is the Colocynth (Citrullus colocynthis), belonging like the last two, to Natural Order, Cucurbitaceae. This view has the support of the Septuagint and Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) It is a vinelike plant which spreads over the ground or attaches itself by its spiral tendrils to other plants. The rounded "gourds" are 3 inches or more in diameter, and contain a pulp intensely bitter and, in any but minute quantities, extremely poisonous.

E. W. G. Masterman

6497. peqaim -- gourd (shaped) ornaments
... 6496, 6497. peqaim. 6498 . gourd (shaped) ornaments. Transliteration: peqaim
Phonetic Spelling: (peh'-kah) Short Definition: gourds. ...
/hebrew/6497.htm - 6k

7021. qiqayon -- (a plant) perhaps castor-oil plant
... 5). gourd. Perhaps from qayah; the gourd (as nauseous) -- gourd. see HEBREW
qayah. 7020, 7021. qiqayon. 7022 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/7021.htm - 6k

6498. paqquoth -- gourds
... gourd. From the same as peqa'; the wild cucumber (from splitting open to shed its
seeds) -- gourd. see HEBREW peqa'. 6497, 6498. paqquoth. 6499 . ...
/hebrew/6498.htm - 6k

The Gourd. Jonah 4:07
... JONAH Hymn 75 The gourd. Jonah 4:7. John Newton 8,8,8,8. The gourd. Jonah 4:7. As
once for Jonah, so the Lord. To soothe and cheer my mournful hours,. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/newton/olney hymns/hymn 75 the gourd jonah.htm

Jonah the Narrow-Minded Patriot
... And Jehovah prepared a gourd and made it grow up over Jonah as a shade
for his head. So the gourd gave Jonah great pleasure; but ...
/.../sherman/the childrens bible/jonah the narrow-minded patriot.htm

The Opinions of Valentinus, with those of his Disciples and Others ...
... But along with it there exists a power which I term a Gourd; and along with this
Gourd there exists a power which again I term Utter-Emptiness. ...
/.../irenaeus/against heresies/chapter xi the opinions of valentinus.htm

The Same is Taught from the History of Jonah.
... But when Jonah was grieved that on the (fortieth) third day, as he proclaimed, the
city was not overthrown, by the dispensation of a gourd [2361] springing up ...
/.../chapter cvii the same is taught.htm

The Story of Jonah.
... It was very hot and Jonah was deeply troubled, and the Lord, who is full of love
and pity for His children, caused a gourd vine with large leaves to spring up ...
/.../lathbury/childs story of the bible/chapter xxxiii the story of.htm

Firm to the End.
... There is a fable of the Persians which tells us how a gourd wound itself round
a lofty palm-tree, and in a few weeks climbed to its very top. ...
/.../the life of duty a years plain sermons v 2/sermon liii firm to the.htm

"Nineveh, that Great City"
... And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it
might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. ...
/.../white/the story of prophets and kings/chapter 22 nineveh that great.htm

Selections from the Work against Heresies by Irenaeus, Bishop of ...
... Since this is the Power which I call the Gourd, there is with it the Power
which I call Superemptiness. This Gourd and Superemptiness ...
/.../richardson/early christian fathers/selections from the work against 2.htm

The Complete Surrender.
... it was God who caused the hot wind to blow when the sun was sending down its scorching
rays, until the soul of Jonah was grieved, and made the gourd to grow ...
/.../murray/the masters indwelling/viii the complete surrender.htm

Indian Religions.
... After their return from war, or escaping some danger, they lighted fires, and made
merry about them, each having his gourd-bottle, or his little bell, in his ...
//christianbookshelf.org/hayward/the book of religions/indian religions.htm

Gourd (4 Occurrences)
... (1.) Jonah's gourd (Jonah 4:6-10), bearing the Hebrew name kikayon (found only
here), was probably the kiki of the Egyptians, the croton. ...
/g/gourd.htm - 12k

Wild (147 Occurrences)
... the wilds of Africa. 10. (adv.) Wildly; as, to talk wild. Int. Standard
Bible Encyclopedia. GOURD, WILD. wild (paqqu`oth sadheh, 2 ...
/w/wild.htm - 50k

Appointeth (28 Occurrences)
... Jonah 4:6 And Jehovah God appointeth a gourd, and causeth it to come up over Jonah,
to be a shade over his head, to give deliverance to him from his affliction ...
/a/appointeth.htm - 15k

Knop (4 Occurrences)
... (2.) Hebrews peka'im, found only in 1 Kings 6:18 and 7:24, an ornament resembling
a small gourd or an egg, on the cedar wainscot in the temple and on the ...
/k/knop.htm - 9k

Rejoiceth (39 Occurrences)
... Jonah 4:6 And Jehovah God appointeth a gourd, and causeth it to come up over Jonah,
to be a shade over his head, to give deliverance to him from his affliction ...
/r/rejoiceth.htm - 17k

Elohim (38 Occurrences)
... Jonah 4:6 And Jehovah Elohim prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah,
that it might be a shade over his head, to deliver him from his trouble. ...
/e/elohim.htm - 18k

Jonah (30 Occurrences)
... By the lesson of the gourd he was taught the value of the heathen in the sight of
Yahweh. ... Through a gourd vine Yahweh teaches the prophet a great lesson. ...
/j/jonah.htm - 35k

Shadow (72 Occurrences)
... of a cloud (Isaiah 25:5), of a great rock (Isaiah 32:2), of a man (Peter, Acts
5:15), of the shadow on the dial (2 Kings 20:9, etc.), of Jonah's gourd (Jonah 4 ...
/s/shadow.htm - 35k

Deliverance (86 Occurrences)
... Jonah 4:6 And Jehovah God appointeth a gourd, and causeth it to come up over Jonah,
to be a shade over his head, to give deliverance to him from his affliction ...
/d/deliverance.htm - 31k

Neck (97 Occurrences)
... the neck of an animal. 3. (n.) The long slender part of a vessel, as a retort,
or of a fruit, as a gourd. 4. (n.) A long narrow tract ...
/n/neck.htm - 45k

Was Jonah truly swallowed by a whale? | GotQuestions.org

Summary of the Book of Jonah - Bible Survey | GotQuestions.org

Who was Jonah in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Gourd: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus