Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

PINE

Any of the various coniferous evergreens with long, slender needles, of the genus Pinus. Pines were common in biblical lands, although they are seldom mentioned in the Bible. The stone pine (Pinus pinea) thrives in the sandy soil and warm climate of the Palestinian coastal plain. This tree matures into an umbrella-shaped tree (also called the umbrella pine) growing up to 24 m. (80 ft.) tall. Its bark is gray-brown with light brown patches (due to peeling). Its needles grow in pairs along the tip of the branch, which ends with a round glossy brown cone. In three years the cones produce mature seeds, which are edible and marketed as pignolia nuts. Ezekiel describes a Tyrian ship with a deck made of tĕʾaššûr wood, likely the stone pine, from the coasts of Cyprus. The spiring cypress, the majestic strength of the plane, and the towering canopy of the stone pine suggest a fitting image for the luxuriant richness of Yahweh’s saving work (Isa. 41:19; 60:13).

The Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) prefers a moister soil and can withstand harsher climates than the stone pine. It reaches a height of 20 m. (65 ft.). The ash-gray bark becomes reddish brown as it matures. The sparse needles grow in twos, and the cones produce winged seeds which mature in two years. The Romans used its strong and durable wood for shipbuilding, piles, and pitprops. The bark is rich in tannin and was widely used in the tanning of leather. The resin of the tree may have suggested the name ʿēṣ šemen (lit., “oil tree”), which some scholars now believe to be the Aleppo pine (Neh. 8:15; NRSV “olive”). It was mentioned as a sign of Yahweh’s new creation in the wilderness (Isa. 41:19).

Bibliography. F. N. Hepper, Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Plants (Grand Rapids, 1992); M. Zohary, Plants of the Bible (Cambridge, 1982).

Laurie J. Braaten

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

PINE

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)