Lily

See Lily of the Valley

שושן , 1Ki 7:19; 1Ki 7:22; 1Ki 7:26; 2Ch 4:5; Son 2:2; Son 2:16; Son 4:5; Son 5:13; Son 6:2-3; Son 7:2; Hos 14:5; κρινον, Mat 6:28; Luk 12:27; a well known sweet and beautiful flower, which furnished Solomon with a variety of charming images in his Song, and with graceful ornaments in the fabric and furniture of the temple. The title of some of the Psalms “upon Shushan,” or “Shoshanim,” Psalms 45; Psalms 60; Psalms 69; Psalms 80, probably means no more than that the music of these sacred compositions was to be regulated by that of some odes, which were known by those names or appellations. By “the lily of the valley,” Son 2:2, we are not to understand the humble flower, generally so called, with us, the lilium convallium, but the noble flower which ornaments our gardens, and which in Palestine grows wild in the fields, and especially in the valleys. Pliny reckons the lily the next plant in excellency to the rose; and the gay Anacreon, compares Venus to this flower. In the east, as with us, it is the emblem of purity and moral excellence. So the Persian poet, Sadi, compares an amiable youth to “the white lily in a bed of narcissuses,” because he surpassed all the young shepherds in goodness.

As, in Son 5:13, the lips are compared to the lily, Bishop Patrick supposes the lily here instanced to be the same which, on account of its deep red colour, is particularly called by Pliny rubens lilium, and which, he tells us, was much esteemed in Syria. Such may have been the lily mentioned in Mat 6:28-30; for the royal robes were purple: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these;” so in Luk 12:27. The scarcity of fuel in the east obliges the inhabitants to use, by turns, every kind of combustible matter. The withered stalks of herbs and flowers, the tendrils of the vine, the small branches of rosemary, and other plants, are all used in heating their ovens and bagnios. We can easily recognize this practice in that remark of our Lord, “If God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” Mat 6:30. The grass of the field, in this passage, evidently includes the lilies of which he had just been speaking, and, by consequence, herbs in general; and in this extensive sense the word χορτος is not unfrequently taken. Those beautiful productions of nature, so richly strayed, and so exquisitely perfumed, that the splendour even of Solomon is not to be compared to theirs, shall soon wither and decay, and be used as fuel. God has so adorned these flowers and plants of the field, which retain their beauty and vigour but for a few days, and are then applied to some of the meanest purposes of life: will he not much more take care of his servants, who are so precious in his sight, and designed for such important services in the world? This passage is one of those of which Sir Thomas Browne says, “The variously interspersed expressions from plants and flowers elegantly advantage the significancy of the text.”

Mr. Salt, in his “Voyage to Abyssinia,” says, “At a few miles from Adowa, we discovered a new and beautiful species of amaryllis, which bore from ten to twelve spikes of bloom on each stem, as large as those of the belladonna, springing from one common receptacle. The general colour of the corolla was white, and every petal was marked with a single streak of bright purple down the middle. The flower was sweet scented, and its smell, though much more powerful, resembled that of the lily of the valley. This superb plant excited the admiration of the whole party; and it brought immediately to my recollection the beautiful comparison used on a particular occasion by our Saviour: ‘I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.’“ And Sir James E. Smith observes, “It is natural to presume the divine Teacher, according to his usual custom, called the attention of his hearers to some object at hand; and as the fields of the Levant are overrun with the amaryllis lutea, whose golden lilaceous flowers in autumn afford one of the most brilliant and gorgeous objects in nature, the expression of ‘Solomon in all his glory not being arrayed like one of these,’ is peculiarly appropriate. I consider the feeling with which this was expressed as the highest honour ever done to the study of plants; and if my botanical conjecture be right, we learn a chronological fact respecting the season of the year when the sermon on the mount was delivered.”

This plant is mentioned in the well-known and beautiful passage (Mat 6:28-29): ’Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these;’ so also in Luk 12:27. Here it is evident that the plant alluded to must have been indigenous or grown wild, in the vicinity of the Sea of Galilee, must have been of an ornamental character, and, from the Greek name given to it, of a liliaceous nature. Travelers in Palestine mention that in the month of January the fields and groves everywhere abound with various species of lily, tulip, and narcissus. Benard noticed, near Acre, on January 18^{th, and about Jaffa, on the 23rd, tulips, white, red, blue, etc. Gumpenberg saw the meadows of Galilee covered with the same flowers on the 31st. Tulips figure conspicuously among the flowers of Palestine. So Pococke says, ’I saw many tulips growing wild in the fields (in March), and anyone who considers how beautiful those flowers are to the eye, would be apt to conjecture that these are the lilies to which Solomon in all his glory was not to be compared.’ This is much more likely to be the plant intended than some others which have been adduced, as, for instance, the scarlet amaryllis, having white flowers with bright purple streaks, found by Salt at Adowa. Others have preferred the Crown imperial, which is a native of Persia and Cashmere. Most authors have united in considering the white lily, Lilium candidum, to be the plant to which our Savior referred; but it is doubtful whether it has ever been found in a wild state in Palestine. This opinion is confirmed by a correspondent at Aleppo, who has resided long in Syria, but is acquainted only with the botany of Aleppo and Antioch: ’I never saw the white lily in a wild state, nor have I heard of its being so in Syria. It is cultivated here on the roofs of the houses in pots as an exotic bulb, like the daffodil.’ The following extract of a letter from Dr. Bowring throws a new light upon the subject: ’I cannot describe to you with botanical accuracy the lily of Palestine. I heard it called by the title of Lilia syriaca, and I imagine under this title its botanical characteristics may be hunted out. Its color is a brilliant red; its size about half that of the common tiger lily. The white lily I do not remember to have seen in any part of Syria. It was in April and May that I observed my flower, and it was most abundant in the district of Galilee, where it and the Rhododendron (which grew in rich abundance round the paths) most strongly excited my attention.’ On this Dr. Lindley observes, ’It is clear that neither the white lily, nor the Oporanthus luteus, nor Ixiolirion, will answer to Dr. Bowring’s description, which seems to point to the Chalcedonian or scarlet martagon lily, formerly called the lily of Byzantium, found from the Adriatic to the Levant, and which, with its scarlet turban like flowers, is indeed a most stately and striking object.’ As this lily (the Lilium chalcedonicum of botanists) is in flower at the season of the year when the sermon on the Mount is supposed to have been spoken, is indigenous in the very locality, and is conspicuous, even in the garden, for its remarkable showy flowers, there can now be little doubt that it is the plant alluded to by our Savior.}

Lily. (Hebrew, shushan, shoshannah). Although there is little doubt that the Hebrew word denotes some plant of the lily species, it is by no means certain what individual of this class it specially designates. The plant must have been a conspicuous object on the shores of the Lake of Gennesaret, Mat 6:28; Luk 12:27, it must have flourished in the deep broad valleys of Palestine, Son 2:1, among the thorny shrubs, Son 2:2, and pastures of the desert, Son 2:16; Son_ 4:5; Son_ 6:3, and must have been remarkable for its rapid and luxuriant growth. Hos 14:5, Sir 39:14.

That its flowers were brilliant in color would seem to be indicated in Mat 6:28 where it is compared with the gorgeous robes of Solomon; and that this color was scarlet or purple is implied in Son 5:13. There appears to be no species of lily which so completely answers all these requirements as the Lilium chalcedonicum, or scarlet martagon, which grows in profusing in the Levant.

But direct evidence on the point is still to be desired from the observation of travellers. (It is very probable that the term lily here is general, not referring to any particular species, but to a large class of flowers growing in Palestine, and resembling the lily, as the tulip, iris, gladiolus, etc. -- Editor).

shuwshan. Mat 7:28-29. The white lily plant is used as fuel when withered; but it does not grow wild in Syria. Rather the scarlet martagon (Lilium chalcedonicum). "The lily at Huleh is large, the three inner petals meet above, forming a gorgeous canopy such as art never approached, and king never sat under even in his utmost glory. Our flower delights in the valleys, grows among thorns, and I have sadly lacerated my hands in extricating it. Nothing can be in higher contrast than the velvety softness of this lily and the tangled hedge of thorns about it. Gazelles still feed among these flowers, and you can scarcely ride through the woods N. of Tabor without frightening gazelles from their flowery pasture" (Thomson, Land and Book, 2:18). Compare Son 2:1, "lily of the valleys" (Son 2:2) "among thorns," (Son 2:16) "he feedeth (in Son 4:5 ’roes’) among the lilies."

The words of Solomon’s Song (Son 5:13), "his lips like lilies," require a ruby or scarlet color, not white. But as" lily" was used also in a general sense for a lovely, bell-shaped flower, the Egyptian lotus of the Nile is probably meant in the "lily work" ornamentation of the capitals ("chapiters") of Solomon’s temple pillars, and the rim of the brazen sea (1Ki 7:22-23). So Egyptian architecture delights in lotus headed capitals. "He shall grow as the lily" (Hos 14:5), i.e. rapidly selfpropagating, one root often producing 50 bulbs (Pliny, Nat. Hist. 21:5). Stanley thinks "lily" includes numerous flowers of the tulip or amaryllis kind blooming in the early summer or the autumn of Palestine. J. Hamilton (Imperial Dictionary) remarks on "consider the lilies," "wondrous is God’s chemistry who out of black mould and invisible vapour builds up that column of chrysolite, and crowns it with its flaming capital.

How strange is God’s husbandry! Instead of taking the lily into a conservatory, He leaves it out among the thorns. The same soil from which one nature can only extract the harsh astringent sloe with its cruel spines yields to another flexile leaves and balmy blossoms. So the life of faith is not lived in the convent or in the sanctuary (alone), but out of doors in the unsympathising world, in the midst of secular men. From the same soil and the same atmosphere from which others derive repulsive attributes, the believer can absorb grace and give forth excellence. The same bounties of providence which make Nabal more churlish make Joseph more generous, tender, and forgiving; the same sunshine which elicits the balm of the lily matures in the blackthorn its verjuice, the same shower which makes thistles rank fills the lily cup with nectar, and clothes it in raiment eclipsing Solomon."

Lily. A flower repeatedly mentioned in Scripture in both the Old and the New Testaments. It was of gorgeous beauty, Mat 6:28-29, growing near the place where the Sermon on the Mount was delivered, luxuriant and probably rapid in its growth, Hos 14:5; it was found in the valleys among thorns and on pasture land, Son 2:1-2; Son 2:16; Son 4:5; Son 6:3; still, whether it was scarlet, or emitted a fragrant odor, we cannot gather with certainty from Son 5:13, as critics differ in their interpretation of this verse. If the former idea be preferred, the flower may be supposed to be the Lilium Chalcedonicum, or scarlet martagon, which is found plentifully in Galilee in spring-time. If the lily was fragrant, it was probably the Lilium candidum, or common white lily, which also grows in Palestine; or it may designate some species of anemone.

shushan, κρίνον. The well-known flower of graceful form, of which there are several species that grow in the fields and valleys of Palestine. One of great beauty grows near the Merom waters, and is called the Huleh-lily. In the Canticles the bride calls herself ’a lily of the valley,’ to which the Bridegroom responds, "as the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters." Son 2:1-2. Israel is to grow up as a lily in a future day. Hos 14:5. The pattern of the lily was among the ornamental work of the temple. The lily is extolled by the Lord as exceeding in beauty all the glory of Solomon. 1Ki 7:19; 1Ki 7:22; 1Ki 7:26; Son 2:16; Son 4:5; Son 5:13; Son 6:2-3; Son 7:2; Mat 6:28; Luk 12:27. Some suppose the Lilium Chalcedonicum, the ’red Turk’s-cap lily,’ to have been the plant referred to by the Lord. Others think it was probably the Anemone coronaria, which they judge to have been included in the Greek κρινον. The term may be general, as the modern Arabic susan. LILY-WORK is ornamentation in resemblance to lilies. 1Ki 7:19; 1Ki 7:22. See SHOSHANNIM.

LILY.—The lily (שׁוּשַׁן, שׁוֹשַׁנָּה, κρίνον) is mentioned by various OT writers (1Ki 7:19, 2Ch 4:5, Son 2:1 etc., Hos 14:5). In the NT there is but one reference (Mat 6:28 and || Luk 12:27). From the expression ‘lilies of the field,’ we gather that they were wild flowers, while the comparison of them with the regal robes of Solomon (Mat 6:29) implies that they were not white, but coloured (cf. Son 5:13). The plant that best accords with these conditions is the scarlet anemone (A. coronaria), with which, in the spring of the year, the Galilaean hillsides are clothed. (See Tristram, Fauna and Flora of Palestine, p. 208; Nat. Hist. of Bible, p. 462). The nature of the reference might, however, favour the supposition that our Lord used the term ‘lilies’ in a very general way, and that it should be taken as comprising a variety of flowers, such as anemones, poppies, and tulips.

Hugh Duncan.

By: Emil G. Hirsch, Immanuel Löw

Rendering in the Bible of the Hebrew word (I Kings vii. 19) or (II Chron. iv. 5; Cant. ii. 1; Hosea xiv. 5), which is probably a loanword from the Egyptian "s-sh-sh-sh-n" = "lotus"; the white lily, Lilium candidum Linn., growing wild in the Lebanon and other regions of northern Palestine. In a figurative sense the word "shoshan" is used of the capitals of the pillars and of the molten sea in the Temple (I Kings vii. 19, 26), and in the Mishnah of a nail-head and the knob on the Etrog; in the Targum it connotes "flower" in general.Sometimes, however, Targumic diction, followed by the Zohar, gives "shoshan" the meaning of "rose."

Described by Ibn Ezra.

The first account of the lily is given by Ibn Ezra in his commentary on the Song of Solomon (comp. Salfeld, "Das Hohelied Salomo's bei den Jüdischen Erklärern des Mittelalters," 1879, p. 68), and is one of the few descriptions of plants in Jewish literature. It runs thus: "It is a white flower of sweet but narcotic perfume, and it receives its name because the flower has, in every case, six [] petals, within which are six long filaments." The Midrash alludes once to the abundance of its sap, and David Ḳimḥi says that it has no roots. Abravanel says that dew makes the lily bloom, but rain destroys it. The heart of this flower is directed upward, even though it be among thorns, thus symbolizing the trust in God which should be felt by Israel amid all afflictions (Lev. R. xxiii. 1; Cant. R. ii. 2). The Zohar speaks of the thirteen leaves of the lily which surround the flower as the thirteen attributes of God which encompass Israel. This number is evidently derived from the description of Ibn Ezra with its six petals, six stamens, and one pistil. In the "Tiḳḳunim" (xxv., end; xxvi., beginning) the theme is varied, the "shoshannah" being taken as denoting both the lily and the rose. The lilies among which the beloved feeds (Cant. ii. 16) are the morning and evening Shema'; the five leaves of the rose are the first five words of the Shema'; and the thirteen leaves of the lily the numerical equivalent of "eḥad," the last word.

The identifications of the "lily-of-the-valleys" (ib. ii. 1) and the "royal lily" of the Syriac translation of Ecclus. (Sirach) xxxix. 14 and the Mishnah (Kil. v. 8; "Tiḳḳunim," iii. 78, l. 2) are uncertain, although the latter has been regarded plausibly as a species of Fritillaria.

The lily as the chief of flowers seems to have been represented on the shekels and half-shekels ascribed to Simon the Hasmonean; and was common on coats of arms in medieval Spain and in modern times.

Typical Application.

About this flower a rich and abundant symbolism has gathered. The faces of the righteous are as the lily, and exist only for redemption as the lily for perfume; so that the later cabalists employ the flower as a symbol of the resurrection (Gamaliel di Monselice on Pirḳe Shirah, ed. Mantua, p. 96a). Yet most of all the lily typifies Israel. As it withers in the sunlight, but blooms beneath the dew, so Israel withers away except God becomes as dew for her (Hos. xiv. 5), and she is renowned among the nations as the lily among the flowers. The lily among thorns is likened to Rebekah, who remained pure amid evil surroundings (Bacher, "Ag. Pal. Amor." ii. 243), and to the sons of Korah (Ps. xlv. 1 [A. V., heading]). While it was as difficult to save the Israelites from the Egyptians as a lily from the thorns (Bacher, l.c. ii. 76), yet they remained faithful among those that worshiped strange gods, as the lilies keep their beauty despite gashes and wounds (Targ., Cant. ii. 1). The title of Ps. lxxx. is supposed by Aḥa of Lydda to refer to the lily; and the passage in Ps. cxxx. 1, "Out of the depths," is explained by him as an allusion to the lily-of-the-valley. The phrase "set about with lilies" (Cant. vii. 2) is applied by the Haggadah to the words of the Law; but it is more usually regarded as alluding to the seventy elders of the Sanhedrin. In a funeral oration R. Simeon b. Laḳish (Bacher, l.c. i. 401) interprets Cant. vi. 2 thus: "My beloved" is God, who has descended into "his garden," the world, to the "beds of spices," Israel, to feed in "the gardens," the nations of the world, and to gather the "lilies," the righteous whom he removes by death from the midst of them. Similar allegorical interpretations are common, even as late as Enoch Zundel Luria in the middle of the nineteenth century. The symbolism of the lily has passed from the Jews to the Christians, so that the angel of the Annunciation is conventionally represented as bearing lilies without filaments.

Bibliography:

Fonck, Streifzüge Durch die Biblische Flora, pp. 53 et seq., Freiburg-im-Breisgau, 1900.

LILY (shûshan, 1Ki 7:10; shôshannah, 2Ch 4:5, Son 2:1, Hos 14:5).—The Heb. word is probably a loan word from the Egyptian for the ‘lotus.’ In Arab [Note: Arabic.] , it is sûsan, which includes a great number of allied flowers—lilies, irises, gladioli, etc. No doubt the Heb. word was equally comprehensive. Flowers of this group are very plentiful in Palestine, the irises being pre-eminent for their handsome appearance. The ‘lily work’ (1Ki 7:19; 1Ki 7:22; 1Ki 7:26) is likely to have been modelled after the lotus (Nymphœa lotus) itself: lotus-like flowers appear on some Jewish coins. The Gr. krinon of Mat 6:28, Luk 12:27 probably had as wide a significance as shûshan, and included much more than actual lilies.

E. W. G. Masterman.

A symbol of chastity and purity because of its spotless whiteness. In Christian art it is an emblem of

• the Annunciation, to indicate the purity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

• Saint Agnes of Montepulciano

• Saint Angelus of Jerusalem, as a symbol of his pure speech

• Saint Anthony of Padua

• Saint Antonius of Florence

• Saint Casimir of Poland

• Saint Catherine of Siena

• Saint Catherine of Sweden

• Saint Clydog

• Saint Columba of Rieti

• Saint Daria

• Saint Didacus

• Saint Dominic de Guzman

• Saint Emerentiana, as a symbol of a pure death

• Saint Francis Xavier

• Gabriel the Archangel due to his connection to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Annunciation

• Saint Gertrude the Great

• Saint Joseph, whose staff (according to an ancient legend) bloomed into lilies in the presence of Mary as a symbol of his chastity

• Saint Justina of Padua

• Saint Kenelm

• Saint Lydwina of Schiedam

• Saint Martina

• Saint Margaret of Hungary

• Saint Mary Anne de Paredes, in reference the lily that grew from her spilled blood

• Saint Nicholas of Tolentino

• Blessed Osanna Andreasi

• Saint Pulcheria

• Saint Ursicinus of Saint-Ursanne

and others. Part of the commonly used informal titles of

• Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks

• Blessed Mariana of Jesus, the Lily of Madrid

• Saint Mary Anne de Paredes, the Lily of Quito

• Saint Rafqa, the Lily of Himlaya

The name Susanna derives from a word for lily.

New Catholic Dictionary

lil´i (שׁוּשׁן, shūshan (1Ki 7:19), שׁושׁנּה, shōshannāh (2Ch 4:5; Son 2:1 f; Hos 14:5); plural (Son 2:16; Son 4:5; Son 5:13; Son 6:2 f; Son 7:2; Ecclesiasticus 39:14; 50:8); κρίνον, krı́non (Mat 6:28; Luk 12:27)): The Hebrew is probably a loan word from the Egyptian the original s-sh-n denoting the lotus-flower, Nymphaea lotus. This was probably the model of the architectural ornament, translated “lily-work,” which appeared upon the capitals of the columns in the temple porch (1Ki 7:19), upon the top of the pillars (1Ki 7:22) and upon the turned-back rim of the “molten sea” (1Ki 7:26).

Botanically the word shōshannāh, like the similar modern Arabic Sūsan, included in all probability a great many flowers, and was used in a way at least as wide as the popular use of the English word “lily.” The expression “lily of the valleys” (Son 2:1) has nothing to do with the plant of that name; the flowers referred to appear to have been associated with the rank herbage of the valley bottoms (Son 4:5); the expression “His lips are as lilies” (Son 5:13) might imply a scarlet flower, but more probably in oriental imagery signifies a sweet-scented flower; the sweet scent of the lily is referred to in Ecclesiasticus 39:14, and in 50:8 we read of “lilies by the rivers of water.” The beauty of the blossom is implied in Hos 14:5, where Yahweh promises that repentant Israel shall “blossom as the lily.” A “heap of wheat set about with lilies” (Son 7:2) probably refers to the smoothed-out piles of newly threshed wheat on the threshing-floors decorated by a circlet of flowers.

The reference of our Lord to the “lilies of the field” is probably, like the Old Testament references, quite a general one.

The Hebrew and the Greek very likely include not only any members of the great order Liliaceae, growing in Palestine, e.g. asphodel, squill, hyacinth, ornithogalum (“Star of Bethlehem”), fritillaria, tulip and colocynth, but also the more showy irises (“Tabor lilies” “purple irises,” etc.) and the beautiful gladioli of the Natural Order. Irideae and the familiar narcissi of the Natural Order Amaryllideae.

In later Jewish literature the lily is very frequently referred to symbolically, and a lotus or lily was commonly pictured on several Jewish coins.

Son 2:1 (b) This flower is a type of CHRIST in His beauty and loveliness. We should notice that the word "valley" is in the plural. The Lord knew we would have many valleys between the cradle and the grave, and would need the Saviour in His beauty and sweetness in every one of them. This lily is a type of CHRIST, first because it is always pure white. Then, it is always fragrant, with an unusual sweetness of its own. It is also a universal flower, found wherever man lives and vegetation can grow. It always droops with its beautiful little bells hanging toward the ground; one must be low and lowly, and then look up into the beauty of CHRIST in order to enjoy Him. This lily does not live on public highways, but is found in sheltered nooks. So it is with CHRIST JESUS. He is not found in the public markets, nor in the busy throng, but in the secret place of the Most High, under the shadow of the Almighty.

Some think that this lily is a type of the Bride, the Church of CHRIST.

- because it grows on the earth and though the earth is black the lily grows up white, thus showing the transforming power of the Lord.

- because it brings joy to the heart of its owner by it’s beauty and fragrance even as the church brings joy to the Lord.

- Because there are so few of them compared with the number of weeds and worthless plants even as the Christians are few in number compared to the sinners.

Hos 14:5 (a) This is a type of Israel in the regeneration when they will be restored to the Lord and shall bring joy to His heart by the beauty and fragrance of their testimony.

Luk 12:27 (a) Here we see a picture of GOD’s gracious care for each child of GOD. GOD beautifies them and supplies their needs. They, in turn, give forth loveliness and perfume for the blessing and the joy of GOD.

Lily. A flower with white or rosy-purple blooms measuring up to 30 centimeters (12 inches) across. Many scholars think the lily is sometimes a term applied to flowers in general. Others believe specific types such as the Turks Cap, the Madonna, or the lotus is referred to.

The lily was used as an ornament for the Temple ( 1Ki 7:22). The Beloved and the Shulamite used lilies to describe their love ( Son 2:1; Son 2:16; Son 4:5; Son 5:13; Son 6:3).

A kind of flower. In the Song of

Solomon, it is probably a red flower.