Hebrew word · H484
אַלְמֻגִּים
'almugim
almug
A rare, costly wood, always plural. In Chronicles it is spelled ʾalgummîm (2 Chr 2:8; 9:10–11). Verse 12 says it was used for temple and palace 'supports' or 'steps' (Hebrew misʿād, a word of uncertain meaning) and for lyres and harps.
Appears 3 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
a tree from Lebanon, almug trees (sandalwood?), almug wood
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 1 Kings 10:11
- Range of meaning
A rare, costly wood, always plural. In Chronicles it is spelled ʾalgummîm (2 Chr 2:8; 9:10–11). Verse 12 says it was used for temple and palace 'supports' or 'steps' (Hebrew misʿād, a word of uncertain meaning) and for lyres and harps.
- Against the English
KJV and WEB: 'almug trees'. BSB and most modern versions: 'almug wood'. NLT identifies it as 'red sandalwood'. LXX and Vulgate guess other woods (see textual notes).
- How it drifted
'Almug trees' can suggest living trees, but the Hebrew ʿăṣê here means timber shipped as cargo.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The likely relatives are Ugaritic ʾlmg and Akkadian elammakku. Both name a valuable wood in texts from Late Bronze Age Syria, which points to a northern source. That fits 2 Chr 2:8, where Solomon asks for algum from Lebanon. An older theory links the word to a Sanskrit term (valgu-) and identifies it as red sandalwood from India, which fits an Ophir in India. HALOT and the major commentaries call the identification uncertain.
Where it appears
1 Kings · 3
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1 Kings 10:11 אַלְמֻגִּ֛ים almug<s>
(The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir also brought from Ophir a great cargo of almug wood and precious stones.
Here: A prized exotic wood that Solomon used for temple and palace steps and for musical instruments (v. 12). Which tree it was is not certain. Suggestions include red sandalwood and a costly Syrian or Anatolian timber.
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1 Kings 10:12 הָאַלְמֻגִּ֜ים אַלְמֻגִּים֙ the almug<s>, almug<s>
The king made the almug wood into steps for the house of the LORD and for the king’s palace, and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before had such almug wood been brought in, nor has such been seen again to this day.)
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.