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In Hebrew the word for this gourd means "nauseous to the taste." Celsius identifies it as the kharwa or castor oil tree. It has been identified by others who believe it to be the Arabic el keroa. The actual word comes from the Egyptian word "kike (Walker). Typically this plant or gourd, is like a large bush, maybe as high as ten feet. It is characterized by broad leaves that are a deep green or bronze. Its flowers bloom from spires. Tiny vermilion sepals and rich cream anthers are features of each blossom. According to Walker its fruit is grayish green and becomes a fiery carmine color. Oil from the plant was used as lamp fuel.
Gourds grow quickly to as high as 10-12 feet or three to four meters. 2 Kings 4:39 records the instance of Elisha's servant putting the fruit of the gourd plant into a pot of stew. Some scholars suggest it was a kind of pumpkin, squash, or ivy. Wild gourds of all kinds flourished in the Mediterranean area. Some of these were poisonous. Ornamental buds used as decoration on the Temple could have been a wild gourd.
In 2 Kings 4:39 one of the "sons of the prophets" gathered a poisonous gourd, supposed to be colocynth. It bears a fruit of the same color and size of an orange. It has an hard, woody shell. Some of the varieties in this family of plants are melons, pumpkins, etc.. These were refreshing fruits amongst the people and it is easily understandable that one could make such a mistake (Smith's Bible Dictionary). (See Colocynth (http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/a/apple046.html) )
2 Kings 4:38-41 And Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were. Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it. So he said, “Then bring some flour.” And he put it into the pot, and said, “Serve it to the people, that they may eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
Jonah 4:6 (KJV) And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
Jonah 4:7 (KJV) But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.
Jonah 4:8 (KJV) And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
Jonah 4:9 (KJV) And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
Jonah 4:10 (KJV) Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
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