* in the uttermost.
13:15,16 Isa 10:28,29
* a pomegranate.
The word {rimmon,} in Arabic {romman,} whence the Portuguese
{romaa,} denotes the pomegranate, both tree and fruit; called
by naturalists {malus punica} or {malo-granatum.} It is,
according to the Linnean system, a genus of the {icosandria
monogynia} class of plants; and is a low tree, growing very
common in Palestine, and other parts of the East. It has
several small angular boughs, very thick and bushy, covered
with a reddish bark, and some of them armed with sharp thorns.
They are garnished with small, narrow, spear-shaped leaves,
like those of the myrtle, but not so sharp, of a green colour,
inclining to red. Its blossoms are large, beautiful, of an
elegant red colour, inclining to purple, composed of several
stalks resembling a rose, in the hollow of the cup: this cup
is oblong, hard, purple, having a figure somewhat like that of
a bell. It is chiefly valued for its fruit, which is
exceedingly beautiful, of the form and size of a large apple,
with a reddish rind, and red within; being full of small
kernels, with red grains, replenished with a generous liquor,
of which, Sir John Chardin informs us, they still make
considerable quantities of wine in the East, particularly in
Persia. But as the pomegranate tree, from its low growth, is
but little adapted for pitching a tent under, it is probable
that Rimmon here is the name of the rock mentioned in Jud
20:45.
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