Sponge
Sponge
Sponge. The sponge is a plant-like animal that lives on the ocean floor. It absorbs nourishment from water passing through its body. When a sponge is removed from water, the cells die, leaving a skeleton. The skeletons of some sponges are flexible and porous. These have been used for centuries as cleaning and water-absorbing tools. Such a sponge, dipped in sour wine, was offered to Christ on the cross (Mat 27:48; Mar 15:36; Joh 19:29).
Fuente: Plants Animals Of Bible
Sponge
() is mentioned only in the New Test. in those, passages which relate the incident of a sponge filled with vinegar and put on a reed, (Mat 27:48 Mar 15:36), or on hyssop (Joh 19:29), being offered to our Lord on the cross. The commercial value of the sponge was known from very early times; and although there appears to be no notice of it in the Old Test., yet it is probable that it was used by the ancient Hebrews, who could readily have obtained it good from the Mediterranean. Aristotle mentions several kinds, and carefully notices those which were useful for economic purposes (Hist. Anim. 5, 14). His speculations on the nature of the sponge are very interesting. Sponge was used in Homer’s day for washing the person, and for cleansing tables after meals, and Martial records the latter use among the Romans. According to Pliny it was used by painters, probably to wash out lights, correct errors, etc.
Sponge (Spongia officinalis) consists, in the state in which we are familiar with it, of an irregular network of minute fibers of a clear horny substance, branching and anastomosing at minute intervals, and in every direction, so as to form a highly porous and elastic mass, the general form of which is that of a cup with thick walls, but not unfrequently rounded or ovate without any cavity. These fibers were during life clothed with a glair which possessed vitality, and were furnished with cilia, by whose movements currents were produced in the water which everywhere occupied the cavities of the mass, thus insuring oxygen for respiration and nutritive matter for increase. This particular species grows on rocks in deep water in the Levant, and especially in the seas that wash the Grecian isles, where, from remote antiquity to the present time, there has existed an active fishery for it. The inhabitants of many of the isles ate dependent for a living on sponge diving.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Sponge
occurs only in the narrative of the crucifixion (Matt. 27:48; Mark 15:36; John 19:29). It is ranked as a zoophyte. It is found attached to rocks at the bottom of the sea.
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Sponge
Mat 27:48; Mar 15:36; Joh 19:29; Psa 69:21. Found on rocks in deep water in the Levant and the parts of the Mediterranean which wash the Grecian Isles.
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
Sponge
SPONGE.See Animals in vol. i. p. 67a and Vinegar.
Fuente: A Dictionary Of Christ And The Gospels
Sponge
SPONGE (Gr. spongos, Mat 27:48, Mar 15:36, Joh 19:29, used in the Crucifixion scene).Sponges have been used from early times, and are common along the Syrian coasts of the Mediterranean.
E. W. G. Masterman.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Sponge
spunj (, spoggos): The word sponge, the King James Version spunge, occurs only in the accounts of our Lord’s crucifixion in Mat 27:48; Mar 15:36; Joh 19:29. Sponges have been known from the earliest periods. They are mentioned by Homer, Aeschylus, Aristophanes and other ancient writers. The sponge fisheries of the Eastern Mediterranean are still among the most important in the world. Sponges are animals of a very simple organization, fixed to rocks or other objects in the sea or in fresh water. The marketable sponge consists of a mass of soft interlacing fibers which constituted the skeleton of the living animal. The sponge fishers of the Levant dive from boats, with or without diving apparatus, and tear the sponges from the rocks with their hands. The sponges are allowed to die and rot in the air and are then thoroughly washed until nothing but the skeleton remains. Sponges which have calcareous or silicious skeletons are unfit for use.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Sponge
Mat 27:48; Mar 15:36; Joh 19:29
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Sponge
Sponge. A soft, porous marine substance. Sponges were, for a long time, supposed to be plants, but are now considered by the best naturalists to belong to the animal kingdom. Sponge is mentioned only in the New Testament. Mat 27:48; Mar 15:36; Joh 19:29. The commercial value of the sponge was known from very early times; and although there appears to be no notice of it in the Old Testament, yet it is probable that it was used by the ancient Hebrews, who could readily have obtained it good from the Mediterranean, where it was principally found.
Fuente: Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Sponge
was the medium by which vinegar was carried to the mouth of Christ on the Cross, Mat 27:48; Mar 15:36; Joh 19:29.