Could pri etz hadar be something else?
It is often said that there is no Jewish source that argues with the indentification of pri etz hadar with an esrog, or citron. However this is not entirely correct. There does appear to be one passage in Josephus that identifies the fruit of the beautiful tree with persea, an avocado like fruit common in Egypt. There are, however, several other passages in Josephus’ own writings that clearly contradict this one passage. Josephus (Antiquities 13.13.5) writes, “As to Alexander, his own people were seditious against him; for at a festival , which was then celebrated, when he stood upon the alter, and was going to sacrifice, the nation rose upon him and pelted him with citrons–the laws of the Jews required that at the feast of tabernacles everyone should have branches of the palm tree and citron tree….”. In Ant. 3.245 he says that it is perseia, an avocado like fruit but in Ant. 13.372 he says that it is a citron. M. Feldman writes: I forwarded this to my father, Dr. Louis Feldman, who
