Nettles

There are thirty to forty-five species of nettles belonging to the family Urtica, which is found mainly in temperate regions of the world. Three are common in Israel and probably were there in Bible times: the Tailed Nettle Urtica caudata (= Urtica membranacea), the Roman Nettle Urtica pilulifera (“little ball nettle”) and the Dwarf Nettle Urtica urens (“burning nettle”). Nettles are mostly perennial plants, with stinging hairs. People who have experienced the sting appreciate that the Hebrew roots s-r-f and ch-r-h both mean “burning” or “scorching.” The Arabic name for one type of nettle is chorreig in Israel and sorbei in Egypt.

All the references cited above are in rhetorical contexts where the quality of thorniness or pain is in focus. Nettles were and are a nuisance on many farms. They tend to sprout in abandoned settlements, and they are often cited with jackals and owls to illustrate the desolation of a nation by their enemies. Today the tops of the growing nettles are used for food in many places. Extracts from nettles are used to treat arthritis and hay fever and as an ingredient of shampoos to control dandruff.

Nettles are found in the Far East, Asia, and Europe, as well as in North America. Translators in those areas may have a special word for them, or they may have a general word for thorns that covers anything with prickles, spikes, needles, or barbs. If transliterations are needed in footnotes, some possibilities are French orties; Portuguese urtiga; Spanish ortiga; and Arabic angura, nabat, akub.