A Review of Ethnobotanical, Ecological and Lexical Evidence to Identify a Biblical Plant

Since the Medieval period, many translators and commentators of the Bible encountered difficulties in understanding the phrase “dove's dung,” in relation to an edible substance, as mentioned in the Book of Kings (i.e., 2 Kings 6:25). We re-examine the suggestions and interpretations used to identify “dove's dung” as a specific plant. Our analysis is based on an exhaustive review of ecological data, geographic distribution of different plants, lexical evidence, edibility, and medicinal uses of these plants. In the literature, the following plants had been suggested as possibly being “dove's dung”: Cicer arienatum; Ornithogalum umbellatum; Bunium elegans; Ceratonia siliqua; Tulipa montana; and Prosopis farcta. Based on all the evidence reviewed, we propose that Prosopis farcta is the most plausible identification of “dove's dung.” Our proposal draws on the Akkadian names for this species, which are kabut summati (“dove's feces”) and zê summati (“dove's dung”), in conjunction with the edibility, ecology, distribution, and medicinal uses of Prosopis farcta, which were the same in ancient Mesopotamia as they are today in the Middle East. All the other suggested plant species, except for P. farcta, were based on unreliable philological data and/or are not native to the Holy Land and/or are unsuitable as a substitute for a staple food under siege conditions.