The Armenian cucumber is not a true cucumber, but is most likely the fruit referred to in Num. 11:5 and Is. 1:8.

The atmospheric conditions characteristic of the Old Testament period were conducive to the existence of enormous flocks of partridges on the mountains of Judea, on the banks of the Dead Sea and in the Negev desert.

The Egyptians used papyrus to make not only boats, but also baskets, footwear, utensils, a range of household objects, and, most importantly, the stems were used to make the famous material on which they wrote and drew pictures.

King Solomon’s table comprised fabulous and abundant arrays of delicious food, among which there were fattened ducks.

At the end of the summer and in winter there was not enough pasture to feed the livestock, so the animals had to be taken up into the mountains and food provided for them manually. Green branches of trees and bushes were cut for this purpose.

In the Bible, this vegetation appears as a symbol of human inconsistency, as the wicked are described as “straw which the wind drives away”.

The Bible only divides birds into two groups: clean and unclean.

The Bible refers to the sheep as a docile and affectionate animal; which knows the voice of its shepherd; gentle and silent; unable to survive on their own, which is why they have to be guided by the shepherd.

Normally bears avoid contact with humans but, if they are disturbed, or hungry, or robbed of their cubs, they are extremely dangerous (Isaiah 11:7; Amos 5:19; 2 Samuel 17:8; Prov. 17:12; 28:15; Hosea 13:8).

The Olea europea is one of the most emblematic trees in the regions bordering the Mediterranean, and abundant in the Holy Land since remote antiquity. The Bible refers to it, and to the products that are obtained from it, on many occasions.

The photo is low-res, his hands are out of focus as he is clapping with delight, it wouldn’t win any photography competitions, but I just love it!

Black mustard seed, as tiny as the head of a needle, is one of the smallest seeds that can be perceived by the naked human eye.

To date some 160,000 different species have been recorded, although it is speculated that millions more remain to be identified.

Victor Glover, one of the crew of the International Space Station, published two images of the sun shining just over the Earth’s horizon.

Its excellent sense of hearing enables it to detect small rodents, large insects, birds and worms, whereas its small size (25 cm from beak to tail) prevents it from hunting for larger prey.

Myrrh is a resinous, aromatic substance which is obtained from the trunk of a bush or small tree known scientifically as Commiphora myrrha. It is native to Northeast Africa, Arabia and Turkey.

In Israel there were four different wild species of mint: horse mint, polo mint, mastrtanto and mentha aquatica.

The Egyptians were the first nomadic beekeepers, as they used to transport their hives by boat on the Nile, in search of different types of flowering plant.

Melons were grown in Egypt during the third millennium before Christ. The fruit can have either a spherical or elliptical appearance and its weight ranges from 400 grammes to 20 kg, though it rarely exceeds 5 kg.

In modern times they have been used therapeutically in very small doses to treat insomnia, rheumatic pain and gout. However, it is a very poisonous plant - an overdose can cause tachycardia, delirium and even death.

The word “mallow” only appears once in the Bible, in this quote from the book of Job, to refer to an edible plant near to desert regions.

Wood was scarce in Biblical lands, due to the poverty of the forests, it had to be imported from other regions, like Lebanon. Wood was reserved for feeding the fires of their sacrifices.

Jesus had the audacity to give the term a completely opposite meaning to the connotations that were familiar to his hearers.

The common hare in Palestine, or Cape hare (Lepus capensis) looks like a giant rabbit but, unlike the latter, they have body-hair when they are born and can see, as their eyes are already open.

Its meaning has been a subject of debate among translators since ancient times, as it is a mythical monster common to many Semitic mythologies.