ISSOPO (Hebr. ἔσοβή; Greek ἄσωπος). — A small plant used for sprinkling in Jewish rites.
The h. is mentioned as early as Ex. 12:22, where the Israelite doors in Egypt are described as being sprinkled with the blood of the lamb. In particular, it was used for the purification of the leper (Lev. 14:4) and for lustral water (Num. 19:6, 18). For a metaphorical use of the term cf. Ps. 50:9. In Io. 19:29, there is general agreement that the reading is erroneous, since it cannot refer to h.
Botanists do not agree on the identification of this plant. It has been thought to be Linnaeus’s Hyssopus officinalis, but, since this does not grow in Palestine, it has also been identified with Origanum Maru.
BIBL.: I. Loew, Die Flora der Juden, II, Vienna 1926, pp. 84–101; id., Der biblische'ëcōb, in Sitzungberichte der Kaiserl. Akad. der Wissenschaft. in Wien, 161 (1909) 3. Angelo Penna