Apple

"(Heb. tappuah, meaning "fragrance"). Probably the apricot or" "quince is intended by the word, as Palestine was too hot for the" growth of apples proper. It is enumerated among the most "valuable trees of Palestine (Joel 1:12), and frequently referred" "to in Canticles, and noted for its beauty (2:3, 5; 8:5). There" "is nothing to show that it was the "tree of the knowledge of" "good and evil." Dr. Tristram has suggested that the apricot has" better claims than any other fruit-tree to be the apple of "Scripture. It grows to a height of 30 feet, has a roundish mass" "of glossy leaves, and bears an orange coloured fruit that gives" "out a delicious perfume. The "apple of the eye" is the Heb." "ishon, meaning manikin, i.e., the pupil of the eye (Prov. 7:2)." "(Comp. the promise, Zech. 2:8; the prayer, Ps. 17:8; and its" "fulfilment, Deut. 32:10.)" "The so-called "apple of Sodom" some have supposed to be the "Solanum sanctum (Heb. hedek), rendered "brier" (q.v.) in Micah" "7:4, a thorny plant bearing fruit like the potato-apple. This" shrub abounds in the Jordan valley. (See [22]ENGEDI.)