Thorns and thistles
What is the significance of thorns and thistles in the Bible?
Thorns and thistles are mentioned numerous times throughout the Bible. More than one hundred species of thorns and thistles thrive in the desert regions of the Holy Land. These rough, prickly, vine-like weeds and shrubs typically grow in tangled masses, causing painful stinging, itching, and irritation to humans and destroying beneficial vegetation.
Various Hebrew and Greek words have been translated as “thistles,” “thorns,” “cockles,” “briers,” “brambles,” and “nettles.” Thorns and thistles have been a constant threat to farmers because they quickly overrun uncultivated fields and destroy untended crops (see Proverbs 24:30–31). Some species have beautiful flowers but are coated with sharp spikes. Others grow to enormous heights and must be burned to the ground before plowing can begin.
The first mention of thorns and thistles in the Bible appears after the fall of humankind. God explains to Adam the effects of sin on the world: “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you” (Genesis 3:17–18). Working the land and procuring food in the fallen world would require painstaking effort. Thus, thorns and thistles are associated with the curse.
If God’s people refused to obey His command to “drive out the inhabitants of the land,” the Lord said He would use “those you allow to remain” as “barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live” (Numbers 33:55; see also Joshua 23:12–13). Gideon used actual thorns and briers as instruments of punishment (Judges 8:4–7; 16). The apostle Paul spoke symbolically of “a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me” as God’s chosen instrument to keep him humble (2 Corinthians 12:7).
Throughout the Bible, thorns and thistles are used in similes and metaphors for wicked people and godless kings (2 Samuel 23:6; 2 Kings 14:9; Ezekiel 2:6; 28:24; Matthew 13:1–8, 22). In Matthew 7:16, Jesus points out the worthlessness of listening to the teachings of false prophets: “Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” In a similar sense, the writer of Hebrews warns against the danger of falling away from God: “Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned” (Hebrews 6:7–8). In all of these passages, thorns and thistles represent the uselessness and futility of life for those who reject God. Ultimately, they will come to destruction (see Isaiah 33:12).
Because they are unpleasant, thorns and thistles are depicted as things to steer clear of: “A slacker’s way is like a thorny hedge, but the path of the upright is a highway” (Proverbs 15:19, CSB; see also 2 Samuel 23:6–7; Proverbs 22:5; Song of Solomon 2:2; Hosea 2:6). Focusing on the damaging effects of thorns and thistles, the prophets used them as symbols for Israel’s dereliction and destruction (see Hosea 9:6; 10:8; Isaiah 5:6; 7:23–25; 34:13; Jeremiah 12:13). Micah voiced this stinging criticism against Israel’s corrupt leaders: “The best of them is like a brier, the most upright worse than a thorn hedge” (Micah 7:4).
The Bible’s figurative use of thorns and thistles primarily denotes cursing, punishment, and destruction. Thorns and thistles also symbolize difficulties, hindrances, and troubles to be avoided.
