דַּרְדַּר (dar.dar)
dar.dar
thistle
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun dardar refers to thistles or thorny weeds, a collective term for plants that are difficult to harvest and painful to handle. In the ancient Near East, these were not merely decorative wildflowers but genuine agricultural nuisances that choked out crops and damaged tools. The word appears in only two verses in the Hebrew Bible: Genesis 3:18 and Hosea 10:8.
In Genesis, God tells Adam that the ground will produce dardar alongside thorns as part of the curse following the Fall. This usage highlights the frustration of labor; instead of easy sustenance, the farmer must contend with invasive weeds that offer no food and cause injury. The image is one of obstruction and futility in the work of cultivation.
Hosea 10:8 uses the same term to describe the fate of Israel’s altars. The prophets say these shrines will be overgrown by thistles, symbolizing divine judgment and abandonment. Where there was once worship, now there is only wild, untamed growth that renders the site useless for its intended purpose. The word thus carries a strong sense of desolation and the reversal of order.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word dardar describes a plant that offers no food and causes injury. In Genesis 3:18, God tells Adam that the ground will yield thorns and thistles. This is not just about farming difficulty. It shows how sin disrupts the harmony of creation. Work becomes a struggle against obstacles that were never meant to be there.
In Hosea 10:8, thistles grow over Israel’s altars. This signals abandonment. Where worship once stood, wild growth takes over. The site becomes useless for its purpose. This image reminds us that spiritual neglect leads to desolation. God desires order and fruitfulness, not chaos.
Yet this word also points to hope. Christ took the curse upon Himself on the cross. He wore a crown of thorns so we could bear fruit for God. Your labor in Him is not in vain. Even when obstacles arise, His grace sustains you. You are invited to rest in His finished work.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- and/ thistle[s]2×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- וְ/דַרְדַּ֖ר1×
- וְ/דַרְדַּ֔ר1×
Key Verses
-
Genesis 3:18
It will yield thorns and thistles to you; and you will eat the herb of the field.
This verse uses dardar to show how the Fall introduced futility and injury into human labor, reversing God's original good design for cultivation.
-
Hosea 10:8
The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed. The thorn and the thistle will come up on their altars. They will tell the mountains, “Cover us!” and the hills, “Fall on us!”
Here thistles overgrow Israel’s altars, visually demonstrating divine judgment where worship has turned to idolatry, leaving the place barren and abandoned.