Reference: Oak
American
As many as six varieties of the oak are found in Palestine. Dr. Robinson speaks of one at Hebron which had a trunk twenty-two and a half feet in circumference; and saw the crests and sides of the hills beyond the Jordan still clothed, as in ancient times, with magnificent oaks, Isa 2:13; Zec 11:2. The oak is often referred to in Scripture, Ge 35:8; Isa 44:14; Am 2:9. There is, however, a second Hebrew word often translated "oak," which is supposed to denote the terebinth or turpentine-tree, called butm by the Arabs, Ge 35:4; Jg 6:11,19; 2Sa 18:9,14. It is translated "elm" in Ho 4.13, and "teil-tree" in Isa 6:13, in which passages the true oak is also mentioned. In many passages where "plain" or "plains" occurs, we should probably understand "terebinth" or "a grove of terebinths," Ge 12:6; 13:18; 14:13; 18:1; De 11:30; Jg 9:6. This tree was found in all countries around the Mediterranean, and in Palestine grew to a large size. It was very long-lived. For many ages after Christ, a tree of this kind near Heron was superstitiously venerated as one of those under which Abraham dwelt at Mamre. Under the welcome shade of oaks and other large trees many public affairs were transacted; sacrifices were offered, courts were held, and kings were crowned, Jos 24:26; Jg 6:11,19; 9:6. See GROVE.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.
Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were allies with Abram.
And the LORD appeared unto him by the oaks of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
And they gave unto Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbacuth.
Are they not on the other side of Jordan, by the way where the sun goes down, in the land of the Canaanites, who dwell in the plain opposite Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh?
And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem.
And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem.
And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be laid waste: as a terebinth tree, and as an oak, whose stump remains, when they are cut down: so the holy seed shall be its stump.
He hews himself down cedars, and takes the cypress and the oak, which he secures for himself among the trees of the forest: he plants a pine, and the rain does nourish it.
Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
Wail, O cypress; for the cedar has fallen; because the mighty trees are ruined: wail, O you oaks of Bashan; for the thick forest has come down.
Easton
There are six Hebrew words rendered "oak."
(1.) 'El occurs only in the word El-paran (Ge 14:6). The LXX. renders by "terebinth." In the plural form this word occurs in Isa 1:29; 57:5 (A.V. marg. and R.V., "among the oaks"); Isa 61:3 ("trees"). The word properly means strongly, mighty, and hence a strong tree.
(2.) 'Elah, Ge 35:4, "under the oak which was by Shechem" (R.V. marg., "terebinth"). Isa 6:13, A.V., "teil-tree;" R.V., "terebinth." Isa 1:30, R.V. marg., "terebinth." Absalom in his flight was caught in the branches of a "great oak" (2Sa 18:9; R.V. marg., "terebinth").
(3.) 'Elon, Jg 4:11; 9:6 (R.V., "oak;" A.V., following the Targum, "plain") properly the deciduous species of oak shedding its foliage in autumn.
(4.) 'Elan, only in 2000'>Da 4:11,2000'>14,20, rendered "tree" in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Probably some species of the oak is intended.
(5.) 'Allah, Jos 24:26. The place here referred to is called Allon-moreh ("the oak of Moreh," as in R.V.) in Ge 12:6; 35:4.
(6.) 'Allon, always rendered "oak." Probably the evergreen oak (called also ilex and holm oak) is intended. The oak woods of Bashan are frequently alluded to (Isa 2:13; Eze 27:6). Three species of oaks are found in Palestine, of which the "prickly evergreen oak" (Quercus coccifera) is the most abundant. "It covers the rocky hills of Palestine with a dense brushwood of trees from 8 to 12 feet high, branching from the base, thickly covered with small evergreen rigid leaves, and bearing acorns copiously." The so-called Abraham's oak at Hebron is of this species. Tristram says that this oak near Hebron "has for several centuries taken the place of the once renowned terebinth which marked the site of Mamre on the other side of the city. The terebinth existed at Mamre in the time of Vespasian, and under it the captive Jews were sold as slaves. It disappeared about A.D. 330, and no tree now marks the grove of Mamre. The present oak is the noblest tree in Southern Palestine, being 23 feet in girth, and the diameter of the foliage, which is unsymmetrical, being about 90 feet." (See Hebron; Teil tree.)
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.
And they gave unto Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
And they gave unto Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
Now Heber the Kenite, who was of the children of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, had separated himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent as far as the oak of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.
And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem.
And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.
For you shall be ashamed of the sacred oaks which you have desired, and you shall be embarrassed for the gardens that you have chosen. For you shall be as an oak whose leaf fades, and as a garden that has no water.
And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be laid waste: as a terebinth tree, and as an oak, whose stump remains, when they are cut down: so the holy seed shall be its stump.
Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks?
To provide for them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Of the oaks of Bashan have they made your oars; the company of Ashurites have made your planks of inlaid ivory, brought out of the coasts of Kittim.
The tree grew, and was strong, and its height reached unto heaven, and its sight to the end of all the earth:
He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from its branches:
The tree that you saw, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and its sight to all the earth;
Fausets
eeyl, from uwl "strong," as the Latin robur. The terebinth or turpentine tree. Eloth, Elim, etc., take their name hence; so for "teil tree" (Isa 6:13; 1:29), and for "elms" (Ho 4:13), eelah; allon is the "oaks"; also eelon is "the oak." The Quercus psedo-coccifera is the most abundant in Palestine, covering Carmel with dense brushwood eight to twelve feet high. Its roots are dug up as fuel in the valleys S. of Lebanon, where the living tree is no longer to be seen. Abram's oak near Hebron is of this species, still flourishing in the midst of a field, the stock 23 ft. in girth, and the branch spreading over a circle 90 ft. in diameter.
It is probably sprung from some far back offshoot of the original grove under which he pitched his tent (Ge 13:18), "Abram dwelt at the oaks of Mamre in Hebron." The Quercus aegilops, or "prickly cupped Valonia oak", is found on the hills E. of Nazareth and Tabor. The Quercus infectoria or "dyeing oak" is seldom higher than 30 ft., growing on the eastern sides of Lebanon and the hills of Galilee; its gall-nuts, formed by the puncture of an insect, contain tannin and gallic acid used for dyeing and ink. Dr. Hooker conjectures the two aegilops to represent the "oaks of Bashan" (Isa 2:13). Deborah was buried under an oak (Ge 35:8). So Saul (1Sa 31:13). Idolaters sacrificed under oaks (Isa 1:29). Under one Joshua set up a pillar at Shechem to commemorate the nation's covenant with God (Jos 24:26). The "tree" in Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Daniel 4) is 'ilan, any "strong tree".
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbacuth.
And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
For you shall be ashamed of the sacred oaks which you have desired, and you shall be embarrassed for the gardens that you have chosen.
For you shall be ashamed of the sacred oaks which you have desired, and you shall be embarrassed for the gardens that you have chosen.
And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be laid waste: as a terebinth tree, and as an oak, whose stump remains, when they are cut down: so the holy seed shall be its stump.
They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because its shadow is good: therefore your daughters shall commit harlotry, and your spouses shall commit adultery.
Hastings
OAK
(1) '
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And he removed from there unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east: and there he built an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.
Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were allies with Abram.
And the LORD appeared unto him by the oaks of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
And they gave unto Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbacuth.
Are they not on the other side of Jordan, by the way where the sun goes down, in the land of the Canaanites, who dwell in the plain opposite Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh?
And their border was from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim, and Adami, Nekeb, and Jabneel, unto Lakum; and it ended at the Jordan:
And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
Now Heber the Kenite, who was of the children of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, had separated himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent as far as the oak of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.
And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem.
And Gaal spoke again and said, See there come people down from the middle of the land, and another company comes along by the oak of Meonenim.
And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you slew in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if you will take that, take it: for there is no other except that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it to me.
Then said Joab, I cannot tarry thus with you. And he took three spears in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.
For you shall be ashamed of the sacred oaks which you have desired, and you shall be embarrassed for the gardens that you have chosen. For you shall be as an oak whose leaf fades, and as a garden that has no water.
And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be laid waste: as a terebinth tree, and as an oak, whose stump remains, when they are cut down: so the holy seed shall be its stump.
But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be laid waste: as a terebinth tree, and as an oak, whose stump remains, when they are cut down: so the holy seed shall be its stump.
He hews himself down cedars, and takes the cypress and the oak, which he secures for himself among the trees of the forest: he plants a pine, and the rain does nourish it.
Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks?
To provide for them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Then shall you know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet incense to all their idols.
The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your mariners: your wise men, O Tyre, that were in you, were your pilots.
So that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their tops among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the lower parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.
They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because its shadow is good: therefore your daughters shall commit harlotry, and your spouses shall commit adultery.
They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because its shadow is good: therefore your daughters shall commit harlotry, and your spouses shall commit adultery.
Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
Wail, O cypress; for the cedar has fallen; because the mighty trees are ruined: wail, O you oaks of Bashan; for the thick forest has come down.
Morish
There are four Hebrew words so translated, but they are all apparently from the same root, signifying 'strong, hardy,' and are mostly applied to the oak, which lives to a great age. Three species of the Quercus are known in Palestine, the pseudo-coccifera, aegilops, and infectoria. It is symbolical of strength, and affords shade from the heat of the sun. Ge 35:8; Jos 24:26; Isa 1:29; 2:13; Eze 27:6; Ho 4:13; Am 2:9; Zec 11:2. The word elah is judged to refer to the terebinth (pistacia terebinthus), though generally translated oak. Ge 35:4; Jg 6:11,19; 2Sa 18:9-14; 1Ki 13:14; 1Ch 10:12; Isa 1:30; Eze 6:13.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And they gave unto Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbacuth.
And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
For you shall be ashamed of the sacred oaks which you have desired, and you shall be embarrassed for the gardens that you have chosen. For you shall be as an oak whose leaf fades, and as a garden that has no water.
And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
Then shall you know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet incense to all their idols.
Of the oaks of Bashan have they made your oars; the company of Ashurites have made your planks of inlaid ivory, brought out of the coasts of Kittim.
They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because its shadow is good: therefore your daughters shall commit harlotry, and your spouses shall commit adultery.
Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
Wail, O cypress; for the cedar has fallen; because the mighty trees are ruined: wail, O you oaks of Bashan; for the thick forest has come down.
Smith
(Heb. strong). There is much difficulty in determining the exact meanings of the several varieties of the term mentioned above. Sometimes, evidently, the terebinth or elm is intended and at others the oak. There are a number of varieties of oak in Palestine. (Dr. Robinson contends that the oak is generally intended, and that it is a very common tree in the East. Oaks grow to a large size, reach an old age and are every way worthy the venerable associations connected with the tree. --ED.) Two oaks, Quercus pseudo-coccifera and Q. aegilops, are well worthy of the name of mighty trees; though it is equally true that over a greater part of the country the oaks of Palestine are at present merely bushes.
Watsons
OAK. The religious veneration paid to this tree by the original natives of our island in the time of the Druids, is well known to every reader of British history. We have reason to think that this veneration was brought from the east; and that the Druids did no more than transfer the sentiments their progenitors had received in oriental countries. It should appear that the Patriarch Abraham resided under an oak, or a grove of oaks, which our translators render the plain of Mamre; and that he planted a grove of this tree, Ge 13:18. In fact, since in hot countries nothing is more desirable than shade, nothing more refreshing than the shade of a tree, we may easily suppose the inhabitants would resort for such enjoyment to
Where'er the oak's thick branches spread A deeper, darker shade.
Oaks, and groves of oaks, were esteemed proper places for religious services; altars were set up under them, Jos 24:26; and, probably, in the east as well as in the west, appointments to meet at conspicuous oaks were made, and many affairs were transacted or treated of under their shade, as we read in Homer, Theocritus, and other poets. It was common among the Hebrews to sit under oaks, Jg 6:11; 1Ki 13:14. Jacob buried idolatrous images under an oak, Ge 35:4; and Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, was buried under one of these trees, Ge 35:8. See 1Ch 10:12. Abimelech was made king under an oak, Jg 9:6. Idolatry was practised under oaks, Isa 1:29; 57:5; Ho 4:13. Idols were made of oaks, Isa 44:14.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
And they gave unto Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbacuth.
And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem.
They arose, all the valiant men, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
For you shall be ashamed of the sacred oaks which you have desired, and you shall be embarrassed for the gardens that you have chosen.
He hews himself down cedars, and takes the cypress and the oak, which he secures for himself among the trees of the forest: he plants a pine, and the rain does nourish it.
Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks?
They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because its shadow is good: therefore your daughters shall commit harlotry, and your spouses shall commit adultery.