Nettle

A well known stinging plant, growing in neglected grounds, Isa 34:13 Hos 9:6 . A different Hebrew word in Job 30:7 Pro 24:31 Zep 2:9, seems to indicate a larger species.\par

Nettle. A well-known plant, covered with minute sharp hairs, containing a poison that produces a painful, stifling sensation. It grows on neglected ground. A different Hebrew word in Job 30:7; Pro 24:31; Zep 2:9, seems to indicate a different species.

charul. Job 30:7, "brambles" (Umbreit). But the bushmen of whom Job speaks "gathered together under the (tall) nettles" to boil them for potherbs (see Job 30:4). The root chaaral "to burn" also favors the Urtica; wrens, "burning" or "stinging nettle." Royle, from the Arabic khardul, our charlock, argues for the wild mustard. Also qimowsh; Isa 34:13.

Nettle. A well-known plant covered with minute sharp hairs, containing a poison that produces a painful, stinging sensation. It grows on neglected ground. A different Hebrew word in Job 30:7; Pro 24:31; Zep 2:9, seems to indicate a different species.

NETTLE.—1. chârûl (Job 30:7, Pro 24:31, Zep 2:9), more probably a generic name for thorn bushes growing in the wilderness, such as the Zizyphus and varieties of acacia. 2. qimmôs (Isa 34:13, Hos 9:6), qimměsônîm (Pro 24:31 EV [Note: English Version.] ‘thorns’). These words all refer probably to nettles, which are abundant in deserted places in Palestine.

E. W. G. Masterman.

Isa 34:13 (b) This is a type of the multitude of little, tiny, sticking, pricking troubles that the Lord would send upon the inhabitants of Idumea because they rejected Him and His Word. (See also brambles, thistles, and thorns).

Nettle. Two different plants referred to in the Bible:

1. The nettles mentioned in ( Isa 34:13) and ( Hos 9:6) are believed to be the true nettle. It is a spiney leaf plant sometimes growing to a height of about two meters (six feet).

2. The nettles referred to in ( Job 30:7) and ( Pro 24:31) are considered by some to be the acanthus, a stinging plant common in Palestine.

The nettles of ( Zep 2:9) Kjv are translated weeds by the NKJV.

The nettle is a plant with toothed leaves covered with tiny hairs that release a stinging liquid when touched. Four types of nettle grow in Israel and the surrounding areas:

1. The common or great nettle (Urtica dioica)

2. The Roman nettle (Urtica pilulifera)

3. The small nettle (Urtica urens)

4. Urtica caudata, which is similar to the small nettle

Some nettles can grow as tall as 1.5 to 1.8 meters (five to six feet). They are common weeds found in abandoned areas and fields. They often grow in places that were once farmed but have since been neglected (Isaiah 34:13; Hosea 9:6).

Aquifer Open Bible Dictionary © 2026 Mission Mutual, an adaptation of the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.