saf´run ( כּרכּם , karkōm ; κρόκος , krókos ): Identical with the Arabic kurḳum , the same as za‛farān , "saffron." The source of the true saffron is Crocus sativus (Natural Order, Indaceae ), a plant cultivated in Palestine; there are 8 wild varieties in all of which, as in the cultivated species, the orange-colored styles and stigmas yield the yellow dye, saffron. Song of Solomon 4:14 probably refers to the C. sativus . There is a kind of bastard saffron plant, the Carthamus tinctorius (Natural Order, Compositae ), of which the orange-colored flowers yield a dye like saffron.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) was edited by James Orr, John Nuelsen, Edgar Mullins, Morris Evans, and Melvin Grove Kyle and was published complete in 1939. This web site includes the complete text.
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