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Katididaustralia 66F
49 posts
7/3/2015 2:47 am
Trees In Bible Times


The great variation in the climate of Palestine and neighbouring lands made possible a very diversified growth of trees, from the cedars of Lebanon to the date palms of Jericho and the broom trees of the desert. Some 30 different types of trees are mentioned in the Bible.

The problem of identifying the particular tree indicated by the original Hebrew or Greek word is frequently a difficult one, and in a number of cases, the identification is only tentative. Such identification depends upon the extent of description given in the actual Bible record as to the characteristics of the tree (at times indicated by the meaning of the root word from which the name is derived) and by comparison of such description with the trees now known to grow in Bible lands, particularly in the regions indicated in the Bible text, when these are so mentioned. Additional help comes from a study of cognate words(that is, words that by their form give evidence of being related and having proceeded from the same original root or source) in other languages, such as Arabic and Aramaic. In some cases it seems the wiser course simply to transliterate* the name, as, for example, in the case of the algum tree.
*Transliteration is the conversion of a text from one script to another.

As Harold and Alma Moldenke point out in their book Plants of the Bible (1952, pp 5+6), many of the trees now found in Palestine may not have been growing there in Bible times, since, as they state, "floras change, especially in regions like Palestine and Egypt where man, notorious for his aptitude in upsetting the delicately adjusted balances in nature, has been most active" for thousand of years. They further state: "Many plants which grew in abundance in the Holy Land or surrounding countries in Biblical days are now no longer found there or else grow in far smaller numbers." Some types have been exterminated or greatly diminished by excessive cultivation of the land or by devastation of timberlands due to the invading forces of Assyria, Babylon, on down to Rome.
Jeremiah 6:6 For this is what Jehovah of armies says:
“Cut down wood and raise up a siege rampart against Jerusalem.
She is the city that must be held to account; There is nothing but oppression within her

Luke 19:43 Because the days will come upon you when your enemies will build around you a fortification of pointed stakes and will encircle you and besiege you from every side

The destruction of trees and forests has allowed the topsoil to wash away and has resulted in barrenness and desolation in many areas.

As early as Abraham's day, trees were listed in a contract for the transfer of property.
Genesis 23:15-18  “My lord, listen to me. This land is worth 400 silver shekels, but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.” Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the amount of silver that he had mentioned in the hearing of the sons of Heth, 400 silver shekels according to the weight accepted by the merchants. Thus the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was in front of Mam′re—the field and the cave in it and all the trees within the boundaries of the field—became confirmed as Abraham’s purchased property in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all those entering the gate of his city.

In the Law
Later Jehovah God brought Israel into Canaan, a land containing "trees for food in abundance." He promised to provide the needed rain if Israel obeyed Him, and He required that a tenth of the fruits be set aside for the use of the sanctuary and the priesthood.
Nehemiah 9:25 And they captured fortified cities and a fertile land, and they took possession of houses full of all sorts of good things, cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and grew satisfied and fat, and they basked in your great goodness.
Leviticus 26:3+4 3 “‘If you continue walking in my statutes and keeping my commandments and you carry them out, I will give you showers of rain at their proper time, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will give their fruit.
Leviticus 27:30 30 “‘Every tenth part of the land, whether from the produce of the field or the fruit of the trees, belongs to Jehovah. It is something holy to Jehovah

On invading the land, the Israelites were instructed not to destroy the fruit-bearing trees when attacking the cities, although centuries later the kings of Judah and Israel were authorized by God to devastate the 'good trees' of the kingdom of Moab. The reason appears to be that Moab was outside the Promised Land. It was punitive warfare against Moab, and the Israelite action was a protection against Moabite revolt or retaliation.
Deuteronomy 20:19+20 “If you lay siege to a city and capture it after fighting against it for many days, you should not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them. You may eat from them, but you should not cut them down. For should you besiege a tree of the field as you would a man? You may destroy only a tree that you know is not used for food. You may cut it down and build siegeworks against the city that is making war against you, until it falls.
2Kings 3:19+25 You must strike down every fortified city and every choice city, you should cut down every good tree, you should stop up all the springs of water, and you should ruin every good plot of land with stones - They tore down the cities, and each man threw a stone into every good plot of land, filling it with stones; they stopped up every spring of water, and they cut down every good tree.

On planting a tree, the owner was not to eat of its fruit during the first three years, and in the fourth year its fruitage was to be devoted to sanctuary use.
Leviticus 19:23-25 “‘When you come into the land and you plant any tree for food, you must consider its fruitage impure and forbidden. For three years it will be forbidden to you. It must not be eaten but in the fourth year, all its fruit will be holy for rejoicing before Jehovah. Then in the fifth year, you may eat its fruit in order to add its produce to your harvest. I am Jehovah your God.
Deuteronomy 26:2 You are to take some of the firstfruits of all the produce of the ground, which you will gather from your land that Jehovah your God is giving you, and put them in a basket and go to the place that Jehovah your God chooses to have his name reside

Thereafter the annual first ripe fruits were likewise so dedicated.
Nehemiah 10:35-37 We will also bring the first ripe fruits of our land and the first ripe fruits of every sort of fruit tree, year by year, to the house of Jehovah, as well as the firstborn of our sons and of our livestock—according to what is written in the Law—and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks. We will bring them to the house of our God, to the priests who minister at the house of our God. Also, the firstfruits of our coarse meal, our contributions, the fruitage of every sort of tree, new wine, and oil, we should bring to the priests to the storerooms of the house of our God, along with the tenth from our land to the Levites, for the Levites are the ones who collect the tenths in all our agricultural cities.

List of Trees by Name

acacia
akee
algum
almond
aloe, aloeswood
apple
apricot
ash
aspen
one stand of, earth’s largest organism
avocado
banyan
baobab (boab)
barteria
ants protect
birch
Stone (Erman’s) birch
black mulberry (sycamine)
breadfruit tree
broom tree
carob
cascarilla
cashew
cassia bark
cedar
cinchona tree
cinnamon
clove
coffee
Commiphora africana
Commiphora opobalsamum (gileadensis)
cork oak
cypress
dragon tree (Canary Islands)
ebony
eucalyptus
fig
fig-mulberry
golden wattle
guayacan
juniper
kauri
laurel
lemon
lotus tree
macadamia
mangrove
maple
mastic
mesquite
Monterey cypress
Moringa oleifera
myrtle
neem
oak
oil tree
oleaster
olive
palm
Pernambuco (pau brasil, “violin tree”)
pine
pistachio
plane tree
pomegranate
poplar
quiver tree
royal poinciana (lagani auna)
rubber tree
sandalwood
sandarac tree
sapodilla
sea buckthorn
sequoia
soursop
storax
sycamore (fig-mulberry)
tamarisk
terebinth
walnut
whistling thorn
willow
yellowwood
yew
ylang-ylang

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I hope you enjoy this interesting information and that it helps you understand your readings.
Love,
Katidid.