Blaz0ej S0trba, «hn#$w#$ of the Canticle», Vol. 85 (2004) 475-502
The term hn#$w#$ is revisited
primarily in the Canticle of Solomon. The most ancient translation –– "lily" ––
of this flower though questioned in recent decades is still widely used. The
LXX’s rendering kri/non is examined and found as the
best translation for the lexeme N#$w#$ –– meaning
"lotus" –– being an Egyptian loan word. This translation fits to the OT
references better than "lily". The textual employment of
hn#$w#$ in the poetry of the Canticle is a chief and commanding proof for
"lotus". The "lily" translation for both hn#$w#$
and kri/non for the majority of the OT cases is seen
as incorrect since it does not pay due attention to the literary and historical
context of the Canticle.
of the Canticle 483
hnvwv
convenient. Another Greek writer, Athenaeus (c. 190 CE), whose work
is a fruitful source of information on the literature and usage of ancient
Greece (44), when speaking about the beauty of the city Susa, clarifies
in his Deipnosophistoi: “…for suson (sou'son ga;r) is what in the
Greek language is called krinon (th/' ‘Ellhvnwn fwnh/' to; krivnon)†(45).
Although Athenaeus is from late antiquity, yet his work is a solid
confirmation of some century-long tradition of krinon meaning lotus.
v
Athenaeus gives us important elucidation regarding the relation
krinon – lotus: the Greek krivnon may well stand for the Egyptian sπn,
v
rendered in the Greek also phonetically as souson. '
I presume that the flower in question hnvwv/krivnon is the Egyptian
aquatic plant known as white lotus Nymphaea lotus, or its blue species
Nymphaea caerulea, which were so well known and used that they
became symbolic of Upper Egypt, just as papyrus was a symbolic
flower of Lower Egypt. These flowers were abundant of course in
lakes of the Nile delta too, which was just taken as a matter of fact by
the LXX translators too (46). The translation of hnvwv/krivnon as “lily†I
hold as incorrect (47). Besides, it has been shown that white or blue
——————
lwto" when he referred to a plant; Herodotus, 4.177. But he used (like Homer)
v
the same term also for a tree too; 2.96. Theophrastus in his typically detailed
manner wrote extensively about this lotus-tree and recognized that besides
several kinds of trees (Hist. Pl. 4.3.1-4) the various plants too bore this same
name lwtov" (Hist. Pl. 7.15.3).
(44) M.C. HOWATSON (ed.), The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature
(Oxford – New York 21997) 70; H. CANCIK – H. SCHNEIDER (eds.), Der neue
Pauly: Enzyklopädie der Antike (Stuttgart – Weimer 1997) II, 196-199.
(45) Athenaeus, Deipn. 12.513.
(46) One should be careful not to mix this Egyptian lotus with its Eastern
sacred species Nelumbo nucifera (Nelumbium speciosum). Nelumbo was
introduced into Egypt from Persia only in the Greek Ptolemaic period; cf. W.J.
DARBY – P. GHALIOUNGUI – L. GRIVETTI, Food: The Gift of Osiris (London 1977)
II, 620-644, esp. 640-641. Cf. WILKINSON, Reading Egyptian Art, 120-121.
Theophrastus gave the first extensive description of this plant; Hist. Pl. 4.8.7-8.
(47) The vast majority of the modern translations of the Canticle in its
different editions of the Bible may show at best that the flower lily is simply
assumed. I list just some of the recent commentaries which confirm also the
translation “lilyâ€. A. MARIASELVAM, The Song of Songs and Ancient Tamil Love
Poems. Poetry and Symbolism (AnBib 118; Roma 1988), takes simply “lotusâ€
but M.H. Pope’s translation “lotus†has basically not been followed. See M.V.
FOX, The Song of Songs and the Ancient Egyptian Love Songs (Madison 1985);
R.E. MURPHY, The Song of Songs. A Commentary on the Book of Canticles or the
Song of Songs (Hermeneia; Minneapolis 1990). G. Garbini translates “rosaâ€,
Cantico dei cantici. Testo, traduzione, note e commento (Biblica. Testi e studi 2;