Topic
Mulberry; Trees
4 passages cited, from 1 classic reference work.
These works date from 1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- 2 Samuel 5:23ISBE
And when David enquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.
- 1 Chronicles 14:14ISBE
Therefore David enquired again of God; and God said unto him, Go not up after them; turn away from them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.
- Psalms 84:6ISBE
Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
- 1 Maccabees 6:34ISBE
And to the end they might provoke the elephants to fight, they shewed them the blood of grapes and mulberries.
In the reference works
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 4 references
mul'-ber-i, (bekha'im; Septuagint apioi, "pear trees" (2Sa 5:23 f; 1Ch 14:14 f, margin "balsam-trees"; Ps 84:6, the King James Version "Baca," margin "mulberry trees," the Revised Version (British and American) "weeping," margin "balsam-trees"): According to Arabic writers the Baca tree is similar to the balsam (Balsamodendron opobalsamum), and grows near Mecca; no such tree is, however, known in Palestine. The name may, in Hebrew, have been applied to some species of ACACIA (which see). The idea of "weeping" implied in the root, both in Hebrew and Arabic, may be explained by the exudation of gum. "The sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees" has been explained to refer to the quivering of the leaves of poplars, but there is not much to support this view (see POPLAR). The translation "mulberry trees" is, however, even more improbable, as this tree, though very plentiful today, had not been introduced into Palestine in Old Testament times.
Mulberry (moron, (1 Macc 6:34)): The Syrians at Bathzacharias "to the end they might provoke the elephants to fight, they, shewed them the blood of grapes and mulberries." This reference must be to the deep red juice of the black mulberry (Morus nigra), the tut shami of Palestine, a variety cultivated all over the land' for its luscious, juicy fruit.
See SYCOMORE.
E. W. G. Masterman
Texts: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.