Hebrew word · H1057

בָּכָא

habekha'im

balsam

A tree or shrub. It appears only here, in v. 23, and in the parallel 1 Chr 14:14–15. It may also lie behind the 'Valley of Baca' in Psalm 84:6 [Heb. 7]. Many link the name to bakhah, 'to weep', perhaps for a plant that 'weeps' resin or sap. The species cannot be identified with confidence.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) balsam tree-a shrub which drips sap when it is cut

2) possible name of a vale of balsam trees in Ps 84:6

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Samuel 5:24

Range of meaning

A tree or shrub. It appears only here, in v. 23, and in the parallel 1 Chr 14:14–15. It may also lie behind the 'Valley of Baca' in Psalm 84:6 [Heb. 7]. Many link the name to bakhah, 'to weep', perhaps for a plant that 'weeps' resin or sap. The species cannot be identified with confidence.

Against the English

KJV and WEB: 'mulberry trees'. BSB, ESV, NASB: 'balsam trees'. NIV (2011) and NLT: 'poplar trees'. All three are guesses. 'Mulberry' comes from later Jewish interpretation and is the least likely. 'Balsam' rests on the 'weeping resin' etymology. 'Poplar' or aspen appeals because the leaves rattle in the slightest breeze.

How it drifted

KJV followed rabbinic tradition, which took bekha'im as mulberries. English readers then pictured an orchard fruit tree. Later versions chose different guesses, so the English 'tree' depends on which Bible you open.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Septuagint seems to have read the word through the 'weep' root ('place of weeping'). The Latin Vulgate has pear trees (pirorum). Studies of biblical plants (e.g. Zohary) list several candidates: Populus euphratica, mastic (Pistacia lentiscus), and resin-producing shrubs, with none proven.

Where it appears

2 Samuel · 2

  1. 2 Samuel 5:23 בְּכָאִֽים׃ [the] balsam trees

    So David inquired of the LORD, who answered, “Do not march straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.

  2. 2 Samuel 5:24 הַבְּכָאִ֖ים the balsam trees

    As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because this will mean that the LORD has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”

    Here: A particular kind of tree or shrub growing near the battlefield, already named in v. 23. Nobody knows for certain what species it is. 'The' points back to the same stand of trees David was told to go around.

1 Chronicles · 2

  1. 1 Chronicles 14:14 הַבְּכָאִֽים׃ the balsam trees

    So David again inquired of God, who answered him, “Do not march up after them, but circle around them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.

  2. 1 Chronicles 14:15 הַבְּכָאִ֔ים the balsam trees

    As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move out to battle, because this will mean that God has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.