are always referred to in the Scriptures as luxuries. The spies sent
by Moses to see the land of Canaan brought back pomegranates with figs
and grapes (Numbers, xiii, 23); the same fruits are promised in Deut.
(viii, 8); the withering of the pomegranate tree is, with that of the
vine and fig tree, noted by the prophet Joel (i, 12) as a sign of
desolation. It is still highly prized as a fruit in the East.