thorns

Spiny plants normally of little economic or cultural value. Thorns are referred to in the Bible by several different terms, such as brambles, briers, thistles, and nettles. They are usually mentioned in a negative sense as irritants, impediments, noxious plants, or indicators of desolate areas. The crown of thorns that was placed on Jesus’s head (Matt 27:29) has been variously identified as Christ thorn, thorny burnet, or paliurus, all of which are shrubs common in the plains and hill regions of the Levant. Brambles (Luke 6:44) may refer to the fruit-bearing blackberry or raspberry plants (genus Rubus) growing on moist stream banks or the spiny burnet dominating the limestone soils. Both plants form impenetrable thickets. Briers, like thorns and brambles, also form woody thickets and spiny hedges (Mic 7:4; Ezek 28:24).