Lexical Summary duday: mandrakes Original Word: דּוּדַי Strong's Exhaustive Concordance basket, mandrake From duwd; a boiler or basket; also the mandrake (as an aphrodisiac) -- basket, mandrake. see HEBREW duwd NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom the same as dod Definition mandrake NASB Translation mandrakes (6). Brown-Driver-Briggs [דּוּדַי] noun masculineGenesis 30:14 mandrake (as love-producing, compare Di Genesis 30:14) — plural דּוּדָאִים (compare Ew189g Sta§§ 301. 122) Genesis 30:14; Cant 7:14; construct דּוּדָאֵי Genesis 30:14 3t.; — mandrakes, as exciting sexual desire, and favouring procreation Genesis 30:14 (twice in verse); Genesis 30:15 (twice in verse); Genesis 30:16 (J); also Cant 7:14 where odour referred to. On דּוּדָאֵי Jeremiah 24:1 vessels, baskets, see דּוּד. Topical Lexicon Entry: Dudaim (Mandrakes; Love-Apples; Baskets) Botanical Identification and Descriptive Features “Mandrakes” is the most common English rendering of dudaim. The plant (Mandragora officinarum) belongs to the nightshade family and bears a fragrant, yellow-orange berry about the size of a small plum. Ancient Near Eastern peoples prized it for its sweet scent, its narcotic root, and its reputation as an aid to conception. The word’s root also allows the sense of “containers,” explaining its appearance as “baskets” in Jeremiah. Occurrences in Scripture 1. Genesis 30:14-16 (four Hebrew occurrences) Cultural and Historical Background Archaeological evidence from Ugarit, Egypt, and Mesopotamia confirms that mandrakes were associated with love and fertility long before the patriarchal age. Their pleasant aroma made them a common perfume, while superstitions credited the root with aphrodisiac power. Clay tablets list mandrake among fertility remedies, and Egyptian love poems celebrate the fruit’s fragrance much as the Song of Solomon does. Symbolism in the Genesis Narrative Genesis 30 portrays mandrakes as a prized commodity in the rivalry between Leah and Rachel. “During the wheat harvest, Reuben went out and found some mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah” (Genesis 30:14). Rachel, barren at the time, barters an evening with Jacob for the fruit, hoping it will help her conceive. The episode underscores several theological themes: Use in the Song of Solomon “The mandrakes send forth their fragrance; at our door is every delicacy, new as well as old, that I have treasured up for you, my beloved” (Song of Solomon 7:13). Here mandrakes typify marital delight, fertility, and the anticipated consummation of covenant love. Their placement “at our door” suggests both hospitality and intimacy, reinforcing the biblical celebration of marriage (Genesis 2:24; Hebrews 13:4). Prophetic Imagery in Jeremiah Jeremiah 24 employs the cognate form to describe two “baskets of figs.” The prophet sees one basket of good figs and another of very bad figs, symbolizing the exiles in Babylon and the remnant left in Judah. By using a term related to dudaim, Scripture links everyday objects to the prophetic word, demonstrating how God transforms ordinary items into vehicles of revelation. The contrast between good and bad figs mirrors the separation of true and false worshipers throughout redemptive history. Ministry and Practical Lessons • God alone grants life and fruitfulness. While cultural artifacts like mandrakes may carry symbolic weight, they possess no power apart from His will (Psalm 127:3). Christological and Redemptive Perspective In Scripture, fertility motifs often foreshadow the Messiah who brings ultimate fruitfulness. Rachel’s longing anticipates the fullness of time when, through another unlikely birth, the “virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son” (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). The fragrant mandrakes of marital love look forward to Christ’s bride, the Church, bearing “the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:11). The baskets of figs prefigure the separation at the final judgment, where true and false believers are distinguished by their response to the King (Matthew 25:31-46). Contemporary Application • Couples may view mandrakes as a reminder that every child is a gift received, not produced by human merit. Thus dudaim, though a minor term, weaves through Scripture to illustrate God’s sovereignty over life, the sanctity of marriage, and the prophetic call to covenant fidelity. Forms and Transliterations בְּדוּדָאֵ֖י בדודאי דּוּדָאֵ֖י דּוּדָאֵ֣י דּוּדָאֵ֥י דֽוּדָאִים֙ דודאי דודאים הַֽדּוּדָאִ֣ים הדודאים מִדּוּדָאֵ֖י מדודאי bə·ḏū·ḏā·’ê bəḏūḏā’ê bedudaEi dū·ḏā·’ê ḏū·ḏā·’îm dūḏā’ê ḏūḏā’îm dudaEi dudaIm had·dū·ḏā·’îm haddūḏā’îm haddudaIm mid·dū·ḏā·’ê middūḏā’ê middudaEiLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Genesis 30:14 HEB: חִטִּ֗ים וַיִּמְצָ֤א דֽוּדָאִים֙ בַּשָּׂדֶ֔ה וַיָּבֵ֣א NAS: and found mandrakes in the field, KJV: and found mandrakes in the field, INT: of wheat and found mandrakes the field and brought Genesis 30:14 Genesis 30:15 Genesis 30:15 Genesis 30:16 Songs 7:13 Jeremiah 24:1 7 Occurrences |
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