Bible Dictionary

Mallows

Occurs only in Job 30:4 (R.V., “saltwort”). The word so rendered (malluah, from melah, “salt”) most probably denotes the Atriplex halimus of Linnaeus, a species of sea purslane found on the shores of…

Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)

Occurs only in Job 30:4 (R.V., “saltwort”). The word so rendered (malluah, from melah, “salt”) most probably denotes the Atriplex halimus of Linnaeus, a species of sea purslane found on the shores of the Dead Sea, as also of the Mediterranean, and in salt marshes. It is a tall shrubby orach, growing to the height sometimes of 10 feet. Its buds and leaves, with those of other saline plants, are eaten by the poor in Palestine.

Smith's Bible Dictionary (1863)

(Job 30:4)

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898) & Schaff's Bible Dictionary

MAL'LOWS. Job 30:4. Several species of mallows grow in Bible lands and are eaten as potherbs by the poor. But it is believed that the Hebrew here denotes a plant of saline taste, or one that grows in salt places. The shrubby sea-oracle (Atriplex halimus), closely connected with the saltwort of our coasts, has both these qualifications, and is most generally agreed upon as the mallows of Job, although other plants have their advocates.