Bible Dictionary
Bush
A bush is a low woody plant or thorny shrub. Most biblical references concern the bush in which the Lord appeared to Moses in flames without consuming it; its exact species is uncertain, though an acacia or related thorn bush is suggested.
Definition
A bush is a low woody plant or thorny shrub. The supplied material uses the term especially for the thorny plant in which the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire without consuming it, though the exact species cannot be established.
Biblical Usage
The burning bush is associated with the Lord’s appearance to Moses and is recalled in the New Testament. Other references use bush for low desert scrub, a plant, or possibly a watering place for flocks.
Historical Background
The bush of Moses is thought likely to have been a thorny acacia or related plant indigenous to the Sinai region. Several varieties of bramble grow in Palestine, but the common Palestinian bramble is not indigenous to Sinai.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
In which Jehovah appeared to Moses in the wilderness (Ex. 3:2; Acts 7:30). It is difficult to say what particular kind of plant or bush is here meant. Probably it was the mimosa or acacia. The words “in the bush” in Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37, mean “in the passage or paragraph on the bush;” i.e., in Ex. 3.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
The Hebrew word seneh occurs only in those passages which refer to Jehovah’s appearance to Moses “in the flame of fire in the bush.” (Exodus 3:2,3,4; 33:16) It is quite impossible to say what kind of thorn bush is intended; but it was probably the acacia a small variety of the shittim tree found in the Sinai region.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>(1) (ceneh, Ex 3:2-4; De 33:16; batos, Mr 12:26; Lu 6:44, "bramble bush"; 20:37; Ac 7:30,35. All the Old Testament references and the New Testament references, except Lu 6:44, are to the same "bush," namely, Moses' "burning bush"). From its etymology ceneh clearly denotes a "thorny" plant, as does the corresponding batos in the Septuagint and New Testament. In the Latin versions rubus, i.e. "bramble," is used as equivalent. Several varieties of bramble flourish in Palestine, of which the most common is Rubus discolor, but this is not an indigenous plant in Sinai. It is stated by Post that a bush of this plant has been planted by the monks of the Convent of Catherine at Sinai to the rear of the "Chapel of the Burning Bush." In spite of tradition there is but little doubt that Moses' "burning bush" must actually have been a shrub of one of the various thorny acacias, or allied plants, indigenous in the Sinaitic peninsula.</p><p>(2) (siach "plant," Ge 2:5; "shrub," Ge 21:15; "bush," Job 30:4,7). In the first reference any kind of plant may be meant, but in the other passages the reference is to the low bushes or scrub, such as are found in the desert.</p><p>(3) (nahalolim, the King James Version bushes, the Revised Version (British and American) PASTURE, margin "bushes," Isa 7:19). The meaning appears to be rather a place for watering flocks, the corresponding Arabic root nahal, having the meaning "to quench one's thirst," and the corresponding noun of place, manhal, meaning a watering-place in the desert.</p><p>E. W. G. Masterman</p>