DATE

The fruit of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), a tree common to Palestine. Dates are oval shaped, fleshy, sweet tasting, and produce one seed.

In the Bible account, dates are mentioned only indirectly. For example, the Shulammite maiden describes the dark locks of her shepherd lover’s hair as being like “date clusters” (“bushy,” KJ; Heb., tal·tal·limʹ; ‘date-panicles,’ Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros, by L. Koehler and W. Baumgartner, Leiden, 1958, p. 1030). Solomon likens her stature to a palm tree and her breasts to “date clusters” (“clusters of grapes,” KJ) and to “fruit stalks of dates” (Heb., san·sin·nimʹ; see Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros, p. 662).​—Ca 5:11; 7:7, 8; see PALM TREE.