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.
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And Abram traveled through the land up to the place of Shechem, to the Oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanites [were] in the land at that time.
So Abram pitched his tent, and he came and settled at the oaks of Mamre, which [were] at Hebron. And there he built an altar to Yahweh.
Then one who escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. And he was living at the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner. {They were allies with Abram}.
And Yahweh appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre. And he was sitting in the doorway of the tent at the heat of the day.
So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that [were] in their hands, and the ornamental rings that [were] in their ears. And Jacob buried them under the oak which [was] near Shechem.
And Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, died. And she was buried below Bethel, under the oak. And its name was called Allon-Bacuth.
(Are they not beyond the Jordan, {toward the west}, in the land of the Canaanites living in the Jordan Valley, opposite Gilgal beside the terebinth of Moreh?)
Then Joshua wrote these words in a scroll of the law of God, and he took a large stone and set it up there under a large tree, which [is] at the shrine of Yahweh.
The angel of Yahweh came and sat under the oak that [was] at Ophrah that belonged to Jehoash [the] Abiezrite; and Gideon his son [was] threshing wheat in the winepress to hide [it] from the Midianites.
The angel of Yahweh came and sat under the oak that [was] at Ophrah that belonged to Jehoash [the] Abiezrite; and Gideon his son [was] threshing wheat in the winepress to hide [it] from the Midianites.
And Gideon went and prepared {a young goat} and unleavened cakes [from] an ephah of flour; he put meat in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and he brought [them] to him under the oak and presented [them].
And Gideon went and prepared {a young goat} and unleavened cakes [from] an ephah of flour; he put meat in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and he brought [them] to him under the oak and presented [them].
All the lords of Shechem and Beth-Millo gathered, and they went and made Abimelech as king, near [the] oak of [the] pillar that [is] at Shechem.
All the lords of Shechem and Beth-Millo gathered, and they went and made Abimelech as king, near [the] oak of [the] pillar that [is] at Shechem.
and against all the lofty and lifted up cedars of Lebanon, and against all the large trees of Bashan,
And {even if only a tenth part remain}, {again she will be destroyed} like terebinth or like [an] oak, which although felled, a tree stump [remains] in them. [The] seed of holiness [will be] her tree stump."
Cutting down cedars for himself, he {chooses} a holm tree and an oak, and he lets it grow strong for him among [the] trees of [the] forest. He plants a cedar, and [the] rain makes [it] grow.
Yet I destroyed the Amorite {before them}, {who was as tall as} cedars and was as strong as the oaks. I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.
Wail, O juniper, for [the] cedar has fallen, for [the] magnificent [trees] are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the impenetrable 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 Da 4:11,14,20, 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.)
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And Abram traveled through the land up to the place of Shechem, to the Oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanites [were] in the land at that time.
And the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El-Paran, which is at the wilderness.
So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that [were] in their hands, and the ornamental rings that [were] in their ears. And Jacob buried them under the oak which [was] near Shechem.
So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that [were] in their hands, and the ornamental rings that [were] in their ears. And Jacob buried them under the oak which [was] near Shechem.
Then Joshua wrote these words in a scroll of the law of God, and he took a large stone and set it up there under a large tree, which [is] at the shrine of Yahweh.
And Heber the Kenite [was] separated from [the other] Kenites, [that is], from the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses. And {he was encamped} at Elon-bezaanannim, which [is] near Kedesh.
All the lords of Shechem and Beth-Millo gathered, and they went and made Abimelech as king, near [the] oak of [the] pillar that [is] at Shechem.
Absalom was found in the presence of the servants of David [as he was] riding on the mule. The mule went under the thicket of the great oak tree, and his head [was] caught in the tree. He [was] left hanging between heaven and earth, and the mule which [was] under him went on.
For you will be ashamed of [the] oaks [in] which you delighted, and you will be disgraced because of the gardens that you have chosen. For you shall be like an oak withering its leaves, and like a garden where there is no water for her.
and against all the lofty and lifted up cedars of Lebanon, and against all the large trees of Bashan,
And {even if only a tenth part remain}, {again she will be destroyed} like terebinth or like [an] oak, which although felled, a tree stump [remains] in them. [The] seed of holiness [will be] her tree stump."
who burn with lust among the oaks, under every leafy tree, who slaughter children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?
to {give} for those in mourning in Zion, to give them a head wrap instead of ashes, [the] oil of joy instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of a faint spirit. And {they will be called} oaks of righteousness, the planting of Yahweh, to show his glory.
They made your oars [with] oaks from Bashan; your deck they made [with] inlaid ivory, with cypress trees from the coastlands of Cyprus.
The tree grew and it became strong, and its height reached to heaven, and {it was visible to the end of the whole earth}.
He cried {aloud} and so he said: "Cut down the tree and chop off its branches; shake off its foliage and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it, and the birds from its branches.
The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong and its height reached to heaven and {it was visible to the end of the whole 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".
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So Abram pitched his tent, and he came and settled at the oaks of Mamre, which [were] at Hebron. And there he built an altar to Yahweh.
And Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, died. And she was buried below Bethel, under the oak. And its name was called Allon-Bacuth.
Then Joshua wrote these words in a scroll of the law of God, and he took a large stone and set it up there under a large tree, which [is] at the shrine of Yahweh.
Then they took their bones and buried [them] under the tamarisk in Jabesh, and they fasted [for] seven days.
For you will be ashamed of [the] oaks [in] which you delighted, and you will be disgraced because of the gardens that you have chosen.
For you will be ashamed of [the] oaks [in] which you delighted, and you will be disgraced because of the gardens that you have chosen.
and against all the lofty and lifted up cedars of Lebanon, and against all the large trees of Bashan,
And {even if only a tenth part remain}, {again she will be destroyed} like terebinth or like [an] oak, which although felled, a tree stump [remains] in them. [The] seed of holiness [will be] her tree stump."
On the tops of the mountains they sacrifice, and on the hills they make offerings, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the whore, and all your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
Hastings
OAK
(1) '
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And he moved on from there to the hill country, east of Bethel. And he pitched his tent at Bethel on the west, and at Ai on the east. And he built an altar there to Yahweh. And he called on the name of Yahweh.
So Abram pitched his tent, and he came and settled at the oaks of Mamre, which [were] at Hebron. And there he built an altar to Yahweh.
Then one who escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. And he was living at the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner. {They were allies with Abram}.
And Yahweh appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre. And he was sitting in the doorway of the tent at the heat of the day.
So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that [were] in their hands, and the ornamental rings that [were] in their ears. And Jacob buried them under the oak which [was] near Shechem.
And Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, died. And she was buried below Bethel, under the oak. And its name was called Allon-Bacuth.
(Are they not beyond the Jordan, {toward the west}, in the land of the Canaanites living in the Jordan Valley, opposite Gilgal beside the terebinth of Moreh?)
Their border was from Heleph, from [the] oak in Zaanannim, Adami Nekeb, Jabneel, up to Lakkum; {it ends} at the Jordan;
Then Joshua wrote these words in a scroll of the law of God, and he took a large stone and set it up there under a large tree, which [is] at the shrine of Yahweh.
And Heber the Kenite [was] separated from [the other] Kenites, [that is], from the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses. And {he was encamped} at Elon-bezaanannim, which [is] near Kedesh.
The angel of Yahweh came and sat under the oak that [was] at Ophrah that belonged to Jehoash [the] Abiezrite; and Gideon his son [was] threshing wheat in the winepress to hide [it] from the Midianites.
And Gideon went and prepared {a young goat} and unleavened cakes [from] an ephah of flour; he put meat in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and he brought [them] to him under the oak and presented [them].
All the lords of Shechem and Beth-Millo gathered, and they went and made Abimelech as king, near [the] oak of [the] pillar that [is] at Shechem.
{And Gaal spoke again} and said, "Look, people [are] coming down from Tabbur-erez, and one division [is] coming from the direction of Elon-meonenim."
Then Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and they formed ranks [for the] battle to meet [the] Philistines.
Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel [were] in the valley of Elah fighting [the] Philistines.
So the priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine whom you killed in the valley of Elah [is] here, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want to take it for yourself, [then] take it, for there is no other except it here." And David said, "There is none like it; give it to me."
Joab said, "No longer will I wait in your presence." Then he took three spears in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he [was] still alive in the oak tree.
For you will be ashamed of [the] oaks [in] which you delighted, and you will be disgraced because of the gardens that you have chosen. For you shall be like an oak withering its leaves, and like a garden where there is no water for her.
and against all the lofty and lifted up cedars of Lebanon, and against all the large trees of Bashan,
And {even if only a tenth part remain}, {again she will be destroyed} like terebinth or like [an] oak, which although felled, a tree stump [remains] in them. [The] seed of holiness [will be] her tree stump."
And {even if only a tenth part remain}, {again she will be destroyed} like terebinth or like [an] oak, which although felled, a tree stump [remains] in them. [The] seed of holiness [will be] her tree stump."
Cutting down cedars for himself, he {chooses} a holm tree and an oak, and he lets it grow strong for him among [the] trees of [the] forest. He plants a cedar, and [the] rain makes [it] grow.
who burn with lust among the oaks, under every leafy tree, who slaughter children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?
to {give} for those in mourning in Zion, to give them a head wrap instead of ashes, [the] oil of joy instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of a faint spirit. And {they will be called} oaks of righteousness, the planting of Yahweh, to show his glory.
And you will know that I [am] Yahweh {when their slain ones are in the midst of their idols} around their altars at every high hill, on the tops of all the mountains and under every green tree and under every leafy oak--the place [at] which they gave pleasing scent for all of their idols.
The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvan were your rowers; your {skilled men}, O Tyre, were {from your own people}, [and] they [were] your seamen.
[This occurred] so that all of [the] trees [with abundant] water will not become tall, and they will not set their treetop between [their] thick foliage, and [so that]{all of the trees that are abundantly watered} {will not stand up to them} in their tallness, for all of them, they have been given [over] to death, to [the] world below in the midst of {mortals}, to [the people] going down to the grave."
On the tops of the mountains they sacrifice, and on the hills they make offerings, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the whore, and all your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
On the tops of the mountains they sacrifice, and on the hills they make offerings, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the whore, and all your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
Yet I destroyed the Amorite {before them}, {who was as tall as} cedars and was as strong as the oaks. I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.
Wail, O juniper, for [the] cedar has fallen, for [the] magnificent [trees] are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the impenetrable 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.
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So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that [were] in their hands, and the ornamental rings that [were] in their ears. And Jacob buried them under the oak which [was] near Shechem.
And Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, died. And she was buried below Bethel, under the oak. And its name was called Allon-Bacuth.
Then Joshua wrote these words in a scroll of the law of God, and he took a large stone and set it up there under a large tree, which [is] at the shrine of Yahweh.
The angel of Yahweh came and sat under the oak that [was] at Ophrah that belonged to Jehoash [the] Abiezrite; and Gideon his son [was] threshing wheat in the winepress to hide [it] from the Midianites.
And Gideon went and prepared {a young goat} and unleavened cakes [from] an ephah of flour; he put meat in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and he brought [them] to him under the oak and presented [them].
For you will be ashamed of [the] oaks [in] which you delighted, and you will be disgraced because of the gardens that you have chosen. For you shall be like an oak withering its leaves, and like a garden where there is no water for her.
and against all the lofty and lifted up cedars of Lebanon, and against all the large trees of Bashan,
And you will know that I [am] Yahweh {when their slain ones are in the midst of their idols} around their altars at every high hill, on the tops of all the mountains and under every green tree and under every leafy oak--the place [at] which they gave pleasing scent for all of their idols.
They made your oars [with] oaks from Bashan; your deck they made [with] inlaid ivory, with cypress trees from the coastlands of Cyprus.
On the tops of the mountains they sacrifice, and on the hills they make offerings, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the whore, and all your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
Yet I destroyed the Amorite {before them}, {who was as tall as} cedars and was as strong as the oaks. I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.
Wail, O juniper, for [the] cedar has fallen, for [the] magnificent [trees] are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the impenetrable 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.
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So Abram pitched his tent, and he came and settled at the oaks of Mamre, which [were] at Hebron. And there he built an altar to Yahweh.
So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that [were] in their hands, and the ornamental rings that [were] in their ears. And Jacob buried them under the oak which [was] near Shechem.
And Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, died. And she was buried below Bethel, under the oak. And its name was called Allon-Bacuth.
Then Joshua wrote these words in a scroll of the law of God, and he took a large stone and set it up there under a large tree, which [is] at the shrine of Yahweh.
The angel of Yahweh came and sat under the oak that [was] at Ophrah that belonged to Jehoash [the] Abiezrite; and Gideon his son [was] threshing wheat in the winepress to hide [it] from the Midianites.
All the lords of Shechem and Beth-Millo gathered, and they went and made Abimelech as king, near [the] oak of [the] pillar that [is] at Shechem.
every strong man arose and took the dead body of Saul and the dead bodies of his sons and brought them to Jabesh. And they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted seven days.
For you will be ashamed of [the] oaks [in] which you delighted, and you will be disgraced because of the gardens that you have chosen.
Cutting down cedars for himself, he {chooses} a holm tree and an oak, and he lets it grow strong for him among [the] trees of [the] forest. He plants a cedar, and [the] rain makes [it] grow.
who burn with lust among the oaks, under every leafy tree, who slaughter children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?
On the tops of the mountains they sacrifice, and on the hills they make offerings, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the whore, and all your daughters-in-law commit adultery.