Bible Dictionary
Camphire
Camphire is the henna plant, a fragrant shrub whose flowers were used for perfume and whose leaves produced a reddish dye. It is mentioned in the Song of Solomon as a pleasing and beautiful plant.
Definition
Camphire is the henna plant, Lawsonia alba or inermis, a shrub with fragrant white or yellow flowers. Its leaves produce a reddish or auburn dye used for staining the nails and palms of the hands, and its flowers yield perfume.
Biblical Usage
Camphire is mentioned in the Song of Solomon as henna or henna-flowers, contributing to the poem’s imagery of fragrance and beauty.
Historical Background
Henna grows in Egypt, Syria, Arabia, and northern India. The shrub commonly reaches several feet in height, and a particularly valued variety was associated with Cyprus.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Heb. copher), mentioned in Cant. 1:14 (R.V., “henna-flowers”); 4:13 (R.V., “henna”), is the al-henna of the Arabs, a native of Egypt, producing clusters of small white and yellow odoriferous flowers, whence is made the Oleum Cyprineum. From its leaves is made the peculiar auburn dye with which Eastern women stain their nails and the palms of their hands. It is found only at Engedi, on the shore of the Dead Sea. It is known to botanists by the name Lawsonia alba or inermis, a kind of privet, which grows 6 or 8 feet high. The margin of the Authorized Version of the passages above referred to has “or cypress,” not with reference to the conifer so called, but to the circumstance that one of the most highly appreciated species of this plant grew in the island of Cyprus.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
There can be no doubt that “camphire” is the Lawsonia alba of botanists, the henna of Arabian naturalists. The henna plant grows in Egypt, Syria, Arabia and northern India. The flowers are white and grow in clusters, and are very fragrant. The whole shrub is from four to six feet high, (Song of Solomon 4:13)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>kam'-fir.</p><p>See HENNA.</p>