Lilium Chalcedonicum
The well-known flower of graceful form, of which there are several species that grow in the fields and valleys of Palestine. One of great beauty grows near the Merom waters, and is called the Huleh-lily. In the Song of Solomon the bride calls herself “a lily of the valley,” to which the Bridegroom responds, “as the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters” (Song of Sol. 2:1-2). Israel is to grow up as a lily in a future day (Hos. 14:5). The pattern of the lily was among the ornamental work of the temple. The lily is extolled by the Lord as exceeding in beauty all the glory of Solomon (1 Kings 7:19,22,26; Song of Sol. 2:16; Song of Sol. 4:5; Song of Sol. 5:13; Song of Sol. 6:2-3; Song of Sol. 7:2; Matt. 6:28; Luke 12:27). Some suppose the Lilium Chalcedonicum, the “red Turk’s-cap lily,” to have been the plant referred to by the Lord. Others think it was probably the Anemone coronaria, which they judge to have been included in the Greek κρινον. The term may be general, as the modern Arabic susan. LILY-WORK is ornamentation in resemblance to lilies (1 Kings 7:19, 22). See SHOSHANNIM.
A field in Israel with Anemone Coronaria.