Vine of sodom in Biblical History

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Schaff's Bible Dictionary

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What is Vine of sodom?
VINE OF SODOM
There is reference to this plant only in Deut 32:32. Josephus describes fruits growing near the Dead Sea, "which indeed resemble edible fruit in color, but on being plucked by the hand are dissolved into smoke and ashes." These are the apples of Sodom of which the poets sing, and which are supposed to be mentioned in the above passage. A surprising number of plants has been proposed as the vine of Sodom, while some have supposed that there was here reference merely to a popular fiction, as perhaps in the case of the dragon, satyr, and unicorn. If we are to interpret Deuteronomy and Josephus literally, the colocynth seems best to answer the conditions, because it is the only vine suggested, and abounds in these regions, while its fruit, though beautiful to the eye, is exceedingly nauseous to the taste, and when ripe there is nothing within it but seeds and a dry powder. See Gourd.

Bibliography Information
Schaff, Philip, Dr. "Biblical Definition for 'vine of sodom' in Schaffs Bible Dictionary".
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