Oil Tree:
oil tre ('ets shemen (Isa 41:19), margin "oleaster," in Ne 8:15, translated "wild olive," the King James Version "pine"; atse shemen, in 1Ki 6:23,31,32, translated "olive wood"): The name "oleaster" used to be applied to the wild olive, but now belongs to quite another plant, the silver-berry, Eleagnus hortensis (Natural Order Elaeagnaceae), known in Arabic as Zeizafan. It is a pretty shrub with sweet-smelling white flowers and silver-grey-green leaves. It is difficult to see how all the three references can apply to this tree; it will suit the first two, but this small shrub would never supply wood for carpentry work such as that mentioned in 1 Kings, hence, the translation "olive wood." On the other hand, in the reference in Ne 8:15, olive branches are mentioned just before, so the translation "wild olive" (the difference being too slight) is improbable. Post suggests the translation of ets shemen by PINE (which see), which if accepted would suit all the requirements.
Written by E. W. G. Masterman
The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.
Blue Letter Bible study tools make reading, searching and studying the Bible easy and rewarding.
Blue Letter Bible is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
©2018 Blue Letter Bible
Note: MLA no longer requires the URL as part of their citation standard. Individual instructors or editors may still require the use of URLs.
Loading...
Interlinear |
Bibles |
Cross-Refs |
Commentaries |
Dictionaries |
Miscellaneous |
Email / username or password was incorrect!
Check your email for password retrieval
Complete the form below to register [?]
Error: That Email is already registered
Error: Please provide a valid Email
Error: Passwords should have at least 6 characters
Error: Passwords do not match
Error: Please provide a valid first name
Error: That username is already taken
Error: Usernames should only contain letters, numbers, dots, dashes, or underscores
Passwords should have at least 6 characters.
Usernames should only contain letters, numbers, dots, dashes, or underscores.
Thank you for registering. A verification email has been sent to the address you provided.
Error: That Email / Username is not registered