Click here to view Apricot blossoms
Click here to view Prunus armeniaca var. Manchuria
Solomon's "apples of gold" are believed to be apricots since they grew abundantly in the Holy Land. Apples such as those common to the U.S. and Europe would not have been a quality fruit found in Solomon's region of the world. Apricots belong to the plum family. They were introduced into the area from Armenia and grew wild in the Caucasus.
Flowers bloom early and are a light rose color. The leaves are heart-shaped and appear on a rather long stalk. One side of the stalk is often a bright red color while the underside is a lighter pale color. The apricot tree trunk is rough and knotty. Prussic acid from the seed has been utilized for medicinal use over the centuries.
Solomon writes about the rejuvenating perfume from the apricot, "Comfort me with apples for I am sick." The Apricot was cultivated in China two thousand years before the Christian era, according to Walker, and was reported by Pliny and Dioscorides. In the SONG OF SOLOMON 2:3 are the words: "As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste."
Source:Walker, All the Plants of the Bible
Joel 1:12 (KJV) The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the
pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees
of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.
Proverbs 25:11 (KJV) A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures
of silver.
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