Sula Benet

Biography of Sula Benet

• Born in Warsaw, then part of the Russian Empire
• Enrolled as a student of literature and philosophy at the University of Warsaw
• Graduated with a degree in anthropology in 1935
• Attended graduate school at Columbia University, receiving her doctorate in 1944
• First presented her theory that calamus in the Bible is hemp at a seminar in Warsaw in 1936

Cannabis Research by Sula Benet

• Proposed that Biblical plants/spices kaneh, kaneh ha-tob, and kaneh-bosem were hemp
• Argued the root kan had a dual meaning in ancient languages, referring to both hemp and reed
• Claimed the Scythians were ritual hemp users in the 5th century B.C.
• Received limited support from academic lexicographers and botanists
• Some scholars suggest qaneh may actually refer to sugarcane

Academic References and Debates

• Standard Biblical Hebrew lexicons mention Benet’s hemp theory
• Some scholars propose different species of hemp or entirely different plants
• Celsius suggested sweet flag as an alternative to hemp
• Royle linked sweet cane in Scripture to Andropogon calamus
• Boissier suggested kaneh was the marsh reed Arundo donax L.

Tel Arad Temple Finding

• Reported by CNN on May 28th, 2020
• Archaeological confirmation of Benet’s theory
• Provides evidence supporting her research on cannabis in ancient contexts

External Links and Further Reading

• Benet’s papers archived in New York University archives
• Recommended reading includes ‘Cannabis: A History’ by M. Booth (2003)

Sula Benet Data Sources