| Easton's Bible Dictionary (R.V. marg. of Deuteronomy 11:30, etc.), the Pistacia terebinthus of botanists; a tree very common in the south and east of Palestine. (see OAK.) Noah Webster's Dictionary (n.) The turpentine tree. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia TEREBINTH ter'-e-binth:
(1) 'elah (Isaiah 6:13, the King James Version "teil tree"; Ho 4:13, the King James Version "elms"); in Genesis 35:4 (the King James Version "oak"); Judges 6:11, 19; Judges 9:6 (the King James Version "plain"); 2 Samuel 18:9, 10, 14 1 Kings 13:14; 1 Chronicles 10:12 Isaiah 1:30 Ezekiel 6:13, translated "oak," and in margin "terebinth"; "vale of Elah," margin "the terebinth" in 1 Samuel 17:2, 19; 1 Samuel 21:9.
(2) 'elim (Isaiah 1:29, "oaks," margin "terebinths").
(3) 'allah (Joshua 24:26, English Versions of the Bible have "oak," but the Septuagint terebinthos).
(4) 'elon, "oak (margin, "terebinth") of Zaanannim" (Joshua 19:33 Judges 4:11); "oak (the Revised Version margin "terebinth," the King James Version "plain") of Tabor" (1 Samuel 10:3); also Genesis 12:6; Genesis 13:18; Genesis 14:13 1 Samuel 10:3; Deuteronomy 11:30 Judges 6:19 all translated "oak" or "oaks," with margin "terebinth" or "terebinths."
(5) In Genesis 14:6 Septuagint has terebinthos, as the translation of the el of El-paran.
(6) In Ecclesiasticus 24:16 terem (b)inthos, the King James Version turpentine tree," the Revised Version (British and American) "terebinth."
It is clear that the translators are uncertain which translation is correct, and it would seem not improbable that then there was no clear distinction between oak and terebinth in the minds of the Old Testament. writers; yet the two are very different trees to any but the most superficial observation.
The terebinth-Pistacia terebinthus (Natural Order, Anacardiaceae), Arabic Butm-is a tree allied to the P. vera, which produces the pistachio nut, and to the familiar "pepper tree" (Schinus molle) so extensively cultivated in modern Palestine. Like the latter the terebinth has red berries, like small immature grapes. The leaves are pinnate, four to six pairs, and they change color and fall in autumn, leaving the trunk bare (compare Isaiah 1:30). The terebinth is liable to be infected by many showy galls, some varieties looking like pieces of red coral. In Palestine, this tree assumes noble proportions, especially in situations when, from its association with some sacred tomb, it is allowed to flourish undisturbed. It is in such situations not infrequently as much as 40 ft. high and spreads its branches, with their thick, dark-green foliage, over a wide area (compare 2 Samuel 18:9, 14; Ecclesiasticus 24:16). Dwarfed trees occur among the brushwood all over the land.
From this tree a kind of turpentine is obtained, hence, the alternative name "turpentine tree" (Ecclesiasticus 24:16 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "terebinth").
E. W. G. Masterman |  | Multi-Version Concordance Terebinth (15 Occurrences) Genesis 12:6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the oak of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. (See JPS) Genesis 35:4 And they gave unto Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hand, and the rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. (See JPS DBY) Judges 6:11 And the angel of Jehovah came, and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. (See JPS) Judges 6:19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of meal: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. (See JPS) Judges 9:6 And all the men of Shechem assembled themselves together, and all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem. (See JPS) 1 Samuel 10:3 Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the oak of Tabor; and there shall meet thee there three men going up to God to Beth-el, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine: (See JPS) 2 Samuel 18:9 And Absalom chanced to meet the servants of David. And Absalom was riding upon his mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between heaven and earth; and the mule that was under him went on. (See JPS DBY) 2 Samuel 18:10 And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak. (See JPS DBY) 2 Samuel 18:14 Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. (See JPS DBY) 1 Kings 13:14 And he went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak; and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. (See JPS DBY) 1 Chronicles 10:12 all the valiant men arose, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days. (See JPS DBY) Isaiah 1:30 For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water. (See JPS DBY) Isaiah 6:13 If there is a tenth left in it, that also will in turn be consumed: as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stock remains when they are felled; so the holy seed is its stock." (WEB JPS ASV DBY NAS RSV NIV) Ezekiel 6:13 And ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the places where they offered sweet savor to all their idols. (See JPS DBY) Hosea 4:13 They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and burn incense on the hills, under oaks and poplars and terebinths, because its shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the prostitute, and your brides commit adultery. (Root in WEB JPS ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV) |
