A water lily is a type of water plant with flat, floating leaves and beautiful, showy flowers. The carved lily decorations mentioned in 1 Kings 7:19–26 and 2 Chronicles 4:5 were probably designed to look like water lily flowers. Few flowers can match the Egyptian lotus or water lily (Nymphaea lotus) in beauty. It resembles a large white rose and once grew abundantly on the surface of the Nile River.
The common European white water lily (Nymphaea alba) would also have been familiar to the people of Israel. It grows in Europe, the Holy Land, and North Africa. However, it is not as common in Egypt as the white lotus.
Another water lily that the Israelites probably knew is the blue lotus (Nymphaea caerulea). Its leaves are 30.5 to 40.6 centimeters (12 to 16 inches) across. It has light-blue flowers that measure 7.6 to 15.2 centimeters (3 to 6 inches) across.