If you have a garden or have visited a plant nursery, you have likely encountered the alluring power of herbs. The intricate design of the leaves. The beautiful but often overlooked flowering. And probably most memorable – the sweet and peppery smells. Herbs are known and loved for their scents and flavors, as well as for their history of medicinal use. Numerous foods and teas are deliciously flavored because of these plants.
Some might be surprised to discover that herbs matter in more areas than food. They are important in the Bible too. Multiple verses in Scripture show herbs being used, often in rituals and events that have significant history and symbolism.
This should not surprise us. God is the Creator of all things, including the plants that we use for scents and seasonings. He crafted these plants, with all their various properties, and chose to include them in His divinely inspired book. Some readers of His Word may quickly skim over the name of an herb, assuming it is unimportant. But nothing is haphazard in the Word of God. Details about these commonly overlooked plants can give us deeper insights into the events in which they appear – even helping us understand larger connections in redemptive history.
There are no insignificant details in Scripture. So, as you study the following herbs, take note. You might just find that you pay more attention to these plants, whether walking down the spice aisle at the store, stopping to admire flowering chicory in fields near a street, or inhaling the scent of potted mint.
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1. Mandrake
In Genesis, we read about Leah and Rachel’s competition to have children. Reuben found mandrakes amid this baby frenzy and brought them to his mother, Leah (Genesis 30:14). Mandrakes might seem to be an unimportant detail of the account, but the way these plants were used reveals a lot about these sisters and contributes to an overarching theme in Genesis.
The root of the mandrake is what most of us associate with the herb because of its odd shape, though it is also known for its aroma (see Song of Songs 7:13). Many people traditionally assumed the plant could help with fertility issues. We can understand, then, why Rachel coveted the mandrakes Reuben found. She had been unable to naturally have her own child and was jealous of Leah having children. As she had told Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” (Genesis 30:1). Already, she had given her maidservant Bilhah to Jacob as a wife to bear more sons for her, as a type of surrogate (Genesis 30:3). Mandrakes seemed like another viable solution to her struggles with infertility.
Leah agreed to her sister’s request, but only in exchange for spending the night with Jacob (Genesis 30:15-16). This unloved wife was forced to use the mandrakes to hire her husband – a clear indication that Jacob spent the majority, though obviously not all, of his time with Rachel. Leah had to force time with him.
All these details contribute to the recurring theme throughout Genesis of individuals choosing their own way instead of waiting on God’s timing. Earlier in Genesis, Sarah did not understand how a couple so old would be able to have the child that God promised, so she took matters into her own hands by giving Hagar to Abraham to bear a child (Genesis 16:1-2). Similarly, Rebekah chose to ignore the prophecy from the Lord that the older twin born to her would serve the younger (Genesis 25:22-23). She helped Jacob deceive Isaac to get the firstborn blessing (Genesis 27:6-10).
Following this lengthy line of lies and desperate grasping for control was Rachel. Instead of realizing that God had blessed Leah with children after seeing that she was unloved, Rachel could only focus on her jealousy (Genesis 29:31; 30:1). In effect, she manipulated events and did not wait for God’s timing. The mandrakes serve as a symbol of the desire for control, of Rachel wanting to use them to promote fertility and Leah’s bartering. Yet, the Lord was not slow in answering the sisters’ individual prayers. He enabled Leah to have many children, and answered Rachel’s request to conceive and bear her first son, Joseph (Genesis 30:22-24). So much animosity and trouble could have been avoided if people, including Rachel, had faithfully waited for God’s timing.
We can learn from these events by submitting ourselves to the Lord’s plan and timeline. To jump ahead of him brings sorrow and trouble.
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2. Maror (Bitter Herbs)
On the night of the Passover, God instructed the Israelites to eat a special meal consisting of roasted lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread (Exodus 12:8). They were to eat their food in haste (Exodus 12:11). However, this did not mean the meal was insignificant. For in the Old Testament, the Passover and Exodus are God’s major acts of redemption for Israel, which foreshadow Jesus’ saving work.
The transliterated Hebrew term for bitter herbs in this verse is maror, which is still the word that Jewish people use to refer to this Passover dish. Although Scripture does not tell us the specific name of the herbs eaten, many commentaries including The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament states that they were likely “endive, chicory, [and] dandelions.” These are plants known for their pungent flavor.
Such strong tastes were meant to remind the Israelites of the bitterness of their slavery in Egypt. They had suffered oppression and mistreatment at the hands of the Egyptians – which we read about early in the book of Exodus. Forced to complete harsh labor, the Israelites suffered severely. Scripture specifically says that the Egyptians “made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly” (Exodus 1:14). But God saw their oppression and heard their cries, remembering His covenant with the Patriarchs (Exodus 2:24; 3:7). He saved the Israelites from slavery and led them to freedom.
Old Testament practices often emphasized the need to remember. Faithful Israelites were supposed to eat the Passover meal as a memorial of what the Almighty Lord had done for them. To remember that a lamb with no broken bones and without blemish had been slaughtered as a substitute for them, its blood placed on the doors of their houses so the Lord would pass over them. To remember the haste with which they had to eat. To remember the bitterness of slavery. They would be unwise to forget how God had rescued them.
Like the Israelites, believers in Jesus have been rescued. We should consider the bitterness of our former enslavement to sin and the blessing of the ultimate Passover Lamb who died for us to free us from sin’s power. For Jesus is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
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3. Coriander Seed
After the Lord had led the Israelites out of Egypt and through the Red Sea, He sustained them in their wilderness wanderings. He provided them with bread from heaven (Exodus 16:4). Of course, this was only after the Israelites had complained in unfaithfulness. They had seen the power of God but still doubted. Regardless, the Lord continued to sustain Israel during their forty years in the wilderness and until the new generation made it to the Promised Land (Joshua 5:12).
This miraculous food was “white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey” (Exodus 16:31). Not only was the color of the manna similar to coriander seed, but so was the size (Numbers 11:7). Individuals would have been familiar with the coriander plant and its seeds. And this was why they compared the bread God provided each morning with a familiar herb. As Smith’s Bible Dictionary notes, coriander is “[a]n aromatic plant found in Egypt, Persia, and India.”
God provided manna for Israel, known for its whiteness resembling frost and coriander seed – a color corresponding with its pure origins from heaven. Yet, there was still a greater Bread from heaven that would come. Jesus explained to the Jewish people of His day that the Father had provided the manna for the Israelites in the desert, and now the greater manna had arrived. He told them that He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35). The Israelites had eaten the manna and still died, but whoever eats the Bread of Life will have eternal life (John 6:49-51). For Jesus, the pure and sinless Son of God, gave His life to save the world.
Such a simple plant commonly found as a seasoning, yet its seeds were used to describe manna, foreshadowing the coming of the Bread of Life. Nothing is as pure and sweet as the salvation He gives.
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4. Hyssop
A slender and aromatic herb in the mint family, hyssop is significant in Scripture because of its use in ritual sprinkling. During the Passover, the Israelites were instructed to dip hyssop into the blood of the sacrificed Passover lamb and place the blood on their doorframes (Exodus 12:21-22). God would pass over the firstborn Israelites because of the substitute lamb that had been sacrificed on their behalf, as symbolized by the blood on the door (Exodus 12:23).
The book of Hebrews informs us that this same herb was used by Moses in the sprinkling of the people after reading of the Book of the Covenant (Hebrews 9:19; compare with Exodus 24:7-8). The presence of hyssop at this event was not coincidental. It would likely have reminded Israel of the Passover and God’s saving power – a symbol of His provision.
Once the Law had been implemented, God commanded the Israelites to use hyssop in ritual sprinklings and cleansings (Leviticus 14:4-6, 49-52). This herb was also used to create the water of cleansing and to purify individuals who had encountered a dead body (Numbers 19:2-9, 17-18).
Such practice was vital to maintaining ceremonial cleanness in the camp and nation since the holy Lord was dwelling with them.
We can further understand how hyssop is associated with purification and cleansing from sin because of David’s psalm that he penned after committing adultery with Bathsheba. Acknowledging his sinfulness, he prayed for God’s mercy and to be washed clean from his sin (Psalm 51:1-2). He wrote, “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7).
So, when the Apostle John included the detail that the stalk of a hyssop plant was used to give Jesus wine vinegar because of His thirst, we should note the significance of this plant (John 19:28-29). An herb that was vital to ritual sprinklings and used to place blood on the doorframes of the houses during the Passover, was utilized to give the dying Savior a final drink.
All the Old Testament cleansings looked forward to what Jesus did on the cross. Scripture tells us that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22). And Jesus shed His blood on the cross and died sacrificially in our place, so that we now have redemption through His blood (Ephesians 1:7). As the Apostle John later wrote, “the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
Hyssop, a symbol of purity and cleanness, reminds us of the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood, which He shed to bring us new and everlasting life.
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5. Mint, Dill, and Cumin
In New Testament times, the Pharisees and teachers of the Law had added human traditions to the commandments of God. One of these added traditions, as an extension of the tithe of the land, was to give a tenth of their garden herbs to the Temple (Luke 11:42). The Pulpit Commentary mentions that the original Old Testament tithe included important crops, but the Pharisees and others “had extended the primitive obligation to the smallest garden herbs.”
Matthew’s Gospel specifically names these tithed herbs as mint, dill, and cumin (Matthew 23:23). Some versions translate dill in this verse as anise, which is another common spice (KJV, ASV). However, modern translations tend to favor dill as the preferred translation (NIV, ESV, CSB). The specific classifications of the herbs are not as important as Jesus’ rebuke. He mentioned the plants to emphasize the glaring inconsistency in the Pharisees’ religious practice. They had focused so much on small matters – tithing mint, dill, and cumin – while failing to care about the more important matters of the Law: “justice, mercy, and faith” (Matthew 23:23).
Tithing was not the problem. They should have done this in addition to obeying what God had commanded about dealing with others. As each of the seven woes show, the Pharisees and teachers of the Law were hypocrites. Appearing outwardly righteous and devout, they failed to see that they were inwardly sinful and were merely putting on a religious show. Jesus rightly told the disciples earlier in this chapter, “[the Pharisees] do not practice what they preach” (Matthew 23:3).
People today can also miss the spirit of the commands in Scripture. God is more concerned with our hearts – that we care about the things He does. Mercy, not empty worship, is what the Lord desires from us. The prophet Micah explained this well: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
We should not get lost in the details of religious practice and neglect the larger picture of what it means to follow the Lord. Simple herbs can remind us of this truth.
Sources
The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, John D. Hannah, “Exodus,” Victor, 1983, p. 128
Smith’s Bible Dictionary, William Smith p. 63
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Originally published Monday, 27 January 2025.
