Oak, Oaks
1:
Oak — There are six Hebrew words rendered “oak.”
(1.) ‘El occurs only in the word El-paran (Gen. 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”); 61:3 (“trees”). The word properly means strongly, mighty, and hence a strong tree.
(2.) ‘Elah, Gen. 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” (2 Sam. 18:9; R.V. marg., “terebinth”).
(3.) ‘Elon, Judg. 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 Dan. 4:11,14,20, rendered “tree” in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Probably some species of the oak is intended.
(5.) ‘Allah, Josh. 24:26. The place here referred to is called Allon-moreh (“the oak of Moreh,” as in R.V.) in Gen. 12:6 and 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; Ezek. 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.)
Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
2:
oak, an acorn-bearing tree noted for its great size. The oak has been revered and has both historical and mythological associations as a symbol of strength. Among the more than three hundred species worldwide are the Palestinian and Tabor oak trees, as they are popularly known in biblical lands. The evergreen Palestinian oak has small leathery leaves edged with tiny thorns. It is in the hill country at an elevation of 1,000 feet where forests of oak at one time dominated the biblical landscape. In northern Transjordan stood the luxurious forests of biblical Bashan; ‘of oaks of Bashan they made your oars’ (Ezek. 27:6), and ‘Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the thick forest has been felled!’ (Zech. 11:2). Oak forests likewise carpeted Gilead and parts of Edom, upper Galilee, and Carmel.
At lower altitudes, in the coastal plain, lower Galilee, and interior valleys, the Tabor oak represented the climax vegetation. It is a deciduous, high-outbranching tree with large leaves. The Plain of Sharon was at one time covered with an impenetrable oak forest which was compared with the lush forests of Carmel and the Lebanon (Isa. 33:9; 35:2).
Although much of the forest land was cleared in antiquity, today one still sees stands of oaks in the hill country and the occasional lone oak or terebinth, ‘sacred tree,’ still preserved. As a sacred, venerable, mighty tree, the oak is associated with worship (Gen. 13:18), with sacrificial offerings (Hos. 4:13), long life (Isa. 6:13), death (the Absalom passage, 2 Sam. 18:9-10, 14), and sanctuaries (‘the oak in the sanctuary of the Lord’ at Shechem, Josh. 24:26). S.L.R.
Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). Harper's Bible dictionary. Includes index. (1st ed.) (716). San Francisco: Harper & Row.
3:
Oak
Many species of oak (genus Quercus) inhabit Israel. Several of these have been identified with the biblical oak (Heb. ˒allôn, ˒ēlôn), but no scholarly consensus exists. For instance, the Tabor oak (Quercus ithaburensis Decne.) is a grand deciduous tree that may reach 23 m. (75 ft.) in height and 18 m. (60 ft.) in crown circumference, a stature that coincides with the biblical reverence for the oak’s strength. The Valonia oak (Q. Aegilops) still inhabits Bashan, and may be one of the species of the “oaks of Bashan” (Isa. 2:13; Ezek. 27:6; Zech. 11:2). Oaks are known for their longevity, up to 500 years.
Oaks symbolize strength and power (Amos 2:9), which may explain their association with gods and ritual customs in the Bible. Large trees were also a burial site; Deborah, Rebecca’s nurse, was buried under an oak tree (Gen. 35:8). The prophets condemn idol worship that took place under oaks and other large trees (Ezek. 6:13; Hos. 4:13). In Gen. 18:1 God appears to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre.
In some translations, ˒allôn and ˒ēlôn have also been rendered “terebinth,” and ˒ēlâ and ˒allâ have been translated “oak.” Debate over these terms still exists. It is possible that they refer to large, stately trees in general, since many types of oak and the terebinth fit this description.
Megan Bishop Moore
Freedman, D. N., Myers, A. C., & Beck, A. B. (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (978). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
