Do you know anybody who has eaten a mandrake?
According to my research, mandrakes are poisonous. They are a root plant, but, produces berry-like fruit. The only part of the mandrake that is not poisonous is the fruit. Supposedly, it’s an ancient remedy to help barren women produce children. This plant has also been used in magic and witchcraft practices.
I’m assuming, in the Bible, when Rachel barters with Leah, wanting some of Reuben’s (Leah’s son) mandrakes, that she was aware of the supposed remedy since Rachel was barren. I also assume that Leah and Rachel ate the berries, not the root since it’s poisonous. But, as I think about it, perhaps Rachel was NOT going to consume the mandrakes – perhaps she wanted to keep them as a symbol of fertility since she was a barren woman?
So, other than the biblical references, have you ever heard anybody talk about mandrakes? Have you ever known anybody who’s eaten the fruit of a mandrake? If so, how did it taste? Do you think Rachel and Leah consumed the berries of the mandrakes, or, did they keep the plants for another reason?
The reason why I’m writing this blog post is because, when I think of mandrakes, I think about the Bible. Then I’m led to wonder – why don’t I ever see mandrakes in the grocery store? Why don’t people ever mention eating them? For the longest time, I’d just assumed that they were a foreign plant, only sparingly available in the states, and that’s why I never saw them offered for consumption. But, now it makes sense as to why I don’t see them. They’re poisonous plants, and knowing this, I would not want to eat the berries even if they were offered. I guess you could call me paranoid, but, although the berries are not poisonous, I’d still be hesitant to eat them!
If somebody offered you a mandrake berry, would you eat it?
Genesis 30:14-16
New King James Version (NKJV)
14 Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?”
And Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.”
16 When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he lay with her that night.