HADAR crin ; Sept. Xonav), a son of Ishmael. In Chron. 3o the name is written Hadad ; xonato ; XopSetp). The former, according to Ge senius, is the correct reading. Hadar was the eighth of the twelve sons promised to Ishmael's parents long before ; and though all became princes according to their nations (Gen. xxv. 16), and the progenitors, it is believed, of the great Arabian tribes, only the slightest traces of them now remain (Burckhardt's Notes on the Bedouins ; Pict. ,6'ible, Gen. xxv.) The mountain of Hadad, on the borders of the Syrian desert, is supposed to indicate the district of the tribe of Ishmaelites sprung from Hadar—a supposition by no means unlikely ; but this is the most that can be said for it.—W. J. C. [HADAD.] HADAS (D'Ii7), always translated ` myrtle,' occurs in several passages of the O. T., as in Isaiah xli. t9 ; lv. ; Neh. viii. t5 ; Zech. i. 8, IO, I I. The Hebrew word hadas is identical with the Arabic hadas, which in the dialect of Arabia L1•4 ' Felix signifies the mvrtle-tree (Richardson's Pers. and Arable Diet.) The myrtle is, moreover, known throughout Eastern countries, and is described in Arabic works under the name u.j, As. The present writer found the berries of the myrtle sold in the bazaars of India under this name (Must. Bot. p. 217). Esther is supposed by Simonis (Bibl. Cabinet, xi. 262) to be a compound of As and lur, and so to mean a fresh myrtle ; and hence it would appear to be very closely allied in signification to Hadassah, the original name of Esther. Almost all translators unite in considering the myrtle as intended in the above passages ; the Sept. has Avpo-ivn, and the Vulgate myrtzes.
The myrtle has from the earliest periods been highly esteemed in all the countries of the south of Europe, and is frequently mentioned by the poets : thus Virgil (Ecl. 54)— Et vos, 0 lauri, carparn, et te, proxima myrte : Sic positm quoniam suaves miscetis oclores.
By the Greeks and Romans it was dedicated to Venus, and employed in making wreaths to crown lovers, but among the Jews it was the emblem of justice. The note of the Chaldee Targum on the name Esther, according to Dr. Harris, is, they call her Hadassah because she was just, and those that are just are compared to my,t/ev.' The repute which the myrtle enjoyed in ancient times it still retains, notwithstanding the great ac cession of ornamental shrubs and flowers which has been made to the gardens and greenhouses of Europe. This is justly due to the rich colouring of its dark green and shining leaves, contrasted with the white starlike clusters of its flowers, afford ing in hot countries a pleasant shade under its branches, and diffusing an agreeable odour from its flowers or bruised leaves. It is, however, most
agreeable in appearance when in the state of a shrub, for when it grows into a tree, as it does in hot countries, the traveller looks under instead of 'over its leaves, and a multitude of small branches are seen deprived of their leaves by the crowding of the upper ones. This shrub is common in the southern provinces of Spain and France, as well as in Italy and Gieece : and also on the northern coast of Africa, and in Syria. The poetical cele brity of this plant had, no doubt, some influence upon its employment in medicine, and numerous properties are ascribed to it by Dioscorides (i.
127). It is aromatic and astringent, and hence, like many other such plants, forms a stimulant tonic, and is useful in a variety of complaints connected with debility. Its berries were formerly employed in Italy., and still are so in Tuscany, as a substitute for spices, now imported so plentifully from the far East. A wine was also preplarted from them, which was called myrtidanum, and their essential oil is possessed of excitant properties. In many parts of Greece and Italy the leaves are employed in tanning leather. The myrtle, possess ing so many remarkable qualities, was not likely to have escaped the notice of the sacred writers, as it is a well-known inhabitant of Judma. Hasselquist and Burckhardt both notice it as occurring on the hills around Jerusalem. It is also found in the valley of Lebanon. Capt. Light, who visited the country of the Druses in 1814, says, he again proceeded up the mountain by the side of a range of hills abounding with myrtles in full bloom, that spread their fragrance round,' and, further on, we crossed through thickets of myrtle.' Irby and Mangles (p. 222) describe the rivers from Tripoli towards Galilee as generally pretty, their banks covered with the nzyrtle, olive, wild vine, etc. Savary, as quoted by Dr. Hanis, describing ascene at the end of the forest of Platanea, says, Myrtles, intermixed with laurel-roses, grow in the valleys to the height of ten feet. Their snow-white flowers, bordered with a purple edging, appear to peculiar advantage under the verdant foliage. Each myrtle is loaded with them, and they emit perfumes more exquisite than those of the rose itself. They en chant every one, and the soul is filled with the softest sensations.'—J. F. R.