Hyssop: (Heb. 'ezob; LXX. hyssopos), first mentioned in
(Exodus 12:22) in
connection with the institution of the Passover. We find it
afterwards mentioned in
(Leviticus 14:4,6,52; Numbers 19:6,18; Hebrews 9:19) It is
spoken of as a plant "springing out of the wall"
(1 Kings 4:33) Many
conjectures have been formed as to what this plant really was. Some
contend that it was a species of marjoram (origanum), six species of
which are found in Palestine. Others with more probability think that
it was the caper plant, the Capparis spinosa of Linnaeus. This plant
grew in Egypt, in the desert of Sinai, and in Palestine. It was
capable of producing a stem three or four feet in length
(Matthew 27:48; Mark 15:36) Comp.
(John 19:29)
