Hebrew word · H424

אֵלָה

'elah

oak

'Elah is the terebinth (Pistacia), a broad, long-lived tree, standing alongside 'allon (H0437), the oak. Ancient usage does not always keep the two apart, and ancient translators often confused them.

Appears 13 times in 12 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) terebinth, terebinth tree

2) valley where David killed Goliath

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 Hosea 4:13

Range of meaning

'Elah is the terebinth (Pistacia), a broad, long-lived tree, standing alongside 'allon (H0437), the oak. Ancient usage does not always keep the two apart, and ancient translators often confused them. Livneh (H3839), from the root for 'white', is the white poplar or the storax; Zohary favours storax, while the Greek here has white poplar.

Against the English

KJV's 'elms' is the outlier and has no support from the Hebrew word. Modern versions agree on oak, poplar and terebinth, which is about as close as anyone can get.

Used elsewhere in the period

Great trees are woven into Israel's own sacred memory: Abram at the oak of Moreh (Genesis 12:6-7) and the oaks of Mamre (13:18), foreign gods buried under the 'elah at Shechem (Genesis 35:4), the angel under the 'elah at Ophrah (Judges 6:11). The later formula 'on every high hill and under every green tree' (Deuteronomy 12:2; 2 Kings 16:4; Jeremiah 2:20; Ezekiel 6:13) condemns such sites. Inscriptions from Kuntillet Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom mention 'his asherah', and trees were linked with the goddess Asherah in the wider region, though this verse names no goddess.

From the study of Judges 6:11

Range of meaning

A large, sturdy tree. Most lexicons (e.g. HALOT) identify it as the terebinth, Pistacia atlantica/palaestina, distinct from ʾallôn, more likely the oak. The tree names were close and sometimes overlapped. Such trees served as landmarks, shade, meeting points and worship sites.

Against the English

KJV, BSB, WEB, YLT and most modern versions say 'oak'. Some (e.g. the RSV tradition at other passages) use 'terebinth'. The species matters less than what the tree meant: 'oak' sounds like scenery, but the Hebrew points to a known, probably sacred, tree.

How it drifted

Early English translators used 'oak' for several Hebrew tree words. The tree's religious meaning is lost on modern readers.

Used elsewhere in the period

Big trees appear at holy sites again and again: Jacob buries the foreign gods under the ʾēlāh at Shechem (Gen 35:4); Joshua sets up a stone under the ʾallāh by Yahweh's sanctuary (Josh 24:26); Abimelech is made king at the great tree of the pillar (Judg 9:6); the prophets condemn sacrifices 'under oak, poplar and terebinth' (Hos 4:13). The angel's arrival also echoes Abraham's visitors at the great trees of Mamre, where a meal is offered as well (Gen 18:1–8; compare Judg 6:18–19).

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 35:4 הָאֵלָ֖ה the oak

    So they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and all their earrings, and Jacob buried them under the oak near Shechem.

Judges · 2

  1. Judges 6:11 הָֽאֵלָה֙ the oak

    Then the angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

    Here: A large, long-lived tree, most likely a terebinth (a tree of the pistachio family) rather than a true oak. 'The tree' is definite: a known local landmark, probably tied to the family's place of worship.

  2. Judges 6:19 הָאֵלָ֖ה the oak

    So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread and an ephah of flour. He placed the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot and brought them out to present to Him under the oak.

2 Samuel · 4

  1. 2 Samuel 18:9 הָאֵלָ֨ה בָאֵלָ֗ה the oak, in the oak

    Now Absalom was riding on his mule when he met the servants of David, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s head was caught fast in the tree. The mule under him kept going, so that he was suspended in midair.

  2. 2 Samuel 18:10 בָּאֵלָֽה׃ in the oak

    When one of the men saw this, he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree!”

  3. 2 Samuel 18:14 הָאֵלָֽה׃ the oak

    But Joab declared, “I am not going to wait like this with you!” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak tree.

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 13:14 הָאֵלָ֑ה the oak

    and went after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” “I am,” he replied.

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 10:12 הָאֵלָה֙ the oak

    all their men of valor set out and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons and brought them to Jabesh. And they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 1:30 כְּאֵלָ֖ה like an oak

    For you will become like an oak whose leaves are withered, like a garden without water.

  2. Isaiah 6:13 כָּאֵלָ֣ה like <the> terebinth

    And though a tenth remains in the land, it will be burned again. As the terebinth and oak leave stumps when felled, so the holy seed will be a stump in the land.”

    Here: "Like the terebinth": a large, long-lived Near Eastern tree (Pistacia). Such trees were landmarks and often marked shrines.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 6:13 אֵלָ֣ה terebinth

    Then you will know that I am the LORD, when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, and under every green tree and leafy oak—the places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols.

    Here: Usually the terebinth, a large, long-lived shade tree of the pistachio family. Its name sounds like ʾēl, 'god', and such trees often marked sacred sites.

Hosea · 1

  1. Hosea 4:13 וְאֵלָ֖ה and terebinth

    They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is pleasant. And so your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery.

    Here: The terebinth, a broad, long-lived tree of the pistachio family. Together the three trees say 'wherever there is a good big tree', not a botanical list of permitted species.

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