Topic
Oil-tree
6 passages cited, from 3 classic reference works.
These works date from 1884–1915 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 They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently.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.
- 1 Kings 6:23Easton · Smith · ISBE
¶ And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high.
- Nehemiah 8:15Easton · Smith · ISBE
And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is…
- Isaiah 41:19Easton · Smith · ISBE
I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together:
- 1 Kings 6:31Easton · ISBE
¶ And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall.
- 1 Kings 6:32Easton · ISBE
The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees.
- 1 Kings 6:33Easton
So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall.
In the reference works
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · 6 references
(Isa. 41:19; R.V. marg., “oleaster”), Heb. ‘etz shemen, rendered “olive tree” in 1 Kings 6:23, 31, 32, 33 (R.V., “olive wood”) and “pine branches” in Neh. 8:15 (R.V., “branches of wild olive”), was some tree distinct from the olive. It was probably the oleaster (Eleagnus angustifolius), which grows abundantly in almost all parts of Palestine, especially about Hebron and Samaria. “It has a fine hard wood,” says Tristram, “and yields an inferior oil, but it has no relationship to the olive, which, however, it resembles in general appearance.”
Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884) · 3 references
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 6 references
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.
E. W. G. Masterman
Texts: Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897); Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884); 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.