Lexical Summary karkom: Saffron Original Word: כַּרְכֹּם Strong's Exhaustive Concordance saffron Probably of foreign origin; the crocus -- saffron. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originof uncertain derivation Definition saffron NASB Translation saffron (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs כַּרְכֹּם noun [masculine] saffron (crocus sativus) (Late Hebrew id.; and verb denominative כִּרְכֵּם; Hithpa`el grow yellow, pale; Aramaic כּוּרְכְּמָא,  Arabic  = κρόκος, crocus; LagGes. Abh. 58, No. 147; so also JHMordtsab Denkm. 83 f.; otherwise DHMib., who compare Sabean כמכם, Arabic  = Greek κάγκαμον); — Songs 4:14; on meaning see especially LöwNo. 162. Topical Lexicon Botanical Identity and Cultural Setting Karcom refers to the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), a fall-blooming bulb whose vivid crimson stigmas yield the costly dye and spice known in the ancient world for fragrance, flavor, medicine, and brilliant color. Native to the wider Mediterranean and Near Eastern region, saffron was cultivated in terraced gardens and royal estates. In Solomon’s era it would have been imported or grown under careful husbandry, prized alongside nard, myrrh, frankincense, and other luxury aromatics. Biblical Occurrence Song of Songs 4:14 locates saffron within the bridegroom’s poetic catalogue of “an orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruits: henna with nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon.” The single mention underscores its exclusivity; karcom is reserved for the intimate, highly cultivated garden imagery of marital love. Symbolism of Fragrance and Color 1. Exquisite Delight. Saffron’s aroma, released only by painstaking gathering of tiny filaments, mirrors the intensity and delicacy of covenantal love. Its placement between “nard” and “calamus” in the Song amplifies a bouquet portraying total devotion (Song of Songs 4:13-15). Historical and Liturgical Connections Though saffron is not listed in the Mosaic recipes, its kinship with the spices of Exodus 30:22-25 aligns it with priestly anointing and tabernacle worship. Extra-biblical sources attest to its use in temple incense in later Jewish tradition, and Greco-Roman writers describe it strewn in banqueting halls—customs that illuminate the royal wedding scene of Psalm 45:8: “All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia.” Christological Foreshadowing The Song’s fragrant garden has long been read as a portrait of Christ and His Church. Each spice, saffron included, accents the manifold perfections of the Bridegroom and the sanctified delights of union with Him. The painstaking harvest of three threads per blossom anticipates the lavish expense of the Mary of Bethany narrative (John 12:3), where “the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume,” prefiguring the costly sacrifice of Calvary. Practical Ministry Application • Cultivate the Rare. Just as saffron demands intentional cultivation, believers are called to nurture spiritual disciplines that release a pleasing aroma before God (2 Corinthians 2:15). Devotional Reflection Consider the hidden beauty lying within the mundane soil: only when the crocus blooms and the delicate stigmas are gathered does saffron’s fragrance emerge. Likewise, seasons of obscurity can yield profound sweetness when surrendered to the Lord. Pray that the Holy Spirit would cultivate within you the costly aroma of love, obedience, and joyful worship, that Christ might walk amidst His garden and find delight. Forms and Transliterations וְכַרְכֹּ֗ם וכרכם vecharKom wə·ḵar·kōm wəḵarkōmLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Songs 4:14 HEB: נֵ֣רְדְּ ׀ וְכַרְכֹּ֗ם קָנֶה֙ וְקִנָּמ֔וֹן NAS: Nard and saffron, calamus KJV: Spikenard and saffron; calamus INT: Nard and saffron calamus and cinnamon 1 Occurrence |
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