CAPER BERRY

[Heb., ʼavi·yoh·nahʹ].

Some translations of Ecclesiastes 12:5 render this Hebrew term as “desire” so that the passage is made to read “and desire fails.” (RS; see also AV; Ro.) However, many modern translators (AT; JB; JP; NW; NC [Spanish]) consider that the writer of Ecclesiastes, in this chapter describing the conditions of man in his old age, used a metaphor, as is the case throughout the description, and that ʼavi·yoh·nahʹ refers to the caper berry (as stimulating desire or appetite). This latter view finds support in the renderings of LXX, Vg, Sy and Arabic translations.

The caper plant (Capparis spinosa) may reach a height of three feet (0.9 meter) but usually spreads over the ground in vinelike fashion. It is abundant throughout the Palestine region, often growing from clefts in rocks or spreading over walls or ruins much like ivy. The spiny branches bear rich green oval leaves. The plant flowers in May with large white blossoms, yellow-tipped purple filaments extending out from their centers.

The berries of the plant are not used as much as the small young buds. These are pickled and eaten as a condiment to stimulate appetite, a quality for which they have been known from ancient times. Thus the writer of Ecclesiastes seems to be saying that, when an old man’s sense of taste diminishes and his appetite weakens, even the stimulation of the caper berry is unable to awaken his desire for food.