Hyssop

(Exod 12:22; Ps 51:7) - a plant frequently mentioned in the Bible. With a bunch of hyssop dipped in the blood of the lamb slain on Passover night, the Hebrews marked the lintels and doorposts of their dwellings (Exod 12:22). A person being cleansed from leprosy was sprinkled seven times with hyssop dipped in the blood of a bird (Lev 14:4). Hyssop was also used to sprinkle an unclean person for purification, having first been dipped in the water of cleansing (Num 19:18). David, having in view the frequent use of hyssop in ceremonial purifications and foreseeing the rite's spiritual significance, exclaims: 'Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow' (Ps 51:7).

Solomon spoke of trees, 'from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall' (1 Kings 4:33). At the Lord's crucifixion, the soldiers filled a sponge with vinegar (sour wine), put it upon hyssop, and raised it to His mouth (John 19:29). The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews likewise points to the use of hyssop, together with the blood of calves and goats and scarlet wool, in Levitical ritual (Heb 9:19). From these passages one may conclude that this fragrant plant, sometimes reaching a height of a sazhen, with blue or white flowers, often grew upon the walls of old ruined houses and upon heaps of refuse; its stems, tied in a bunch, were convenient for sprinkling liquids and were used by the Hebrews as an aspergillum is ordinarily used among us.