Hebrew word · H6196

עַרְמוֹן

ve'ermon

plane tree

The oriental plane tree (Platanus orientalis). It grows along streams in Lebanon and Mesopotamia, reaches great size and has a very wide, dense crown. It occurs only here and in Genesis 30:37, among the rods Jacob peeled.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) plane-tree

1a) as stripped of bark

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 Ezekiel 31:8

Range of meaning

The oriental plane tree (Platanus orientalis). It grows along streams in Lebanon and Mesopotamia, reaches great size and has a very wide, dense crown. It occurs only here and in Genesis 30:37, among the rods Jacob peeled.

Against the English

KJV and YLT have 'chesnut', WEB has 'pine trees', and modern versions (BSB, NIV, ESV, NASB) have 'plane trees'.

How it drifted

The KJV followed older guesses about the tree. Botanical study of the region identified it as the plane, which flourishes by water. The sweet chestnut is not native to the land of Israel in the way the plane is near water.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 30:37. Plant studies of the Bible (e.g. Zohary) identify it as Platanus orientalis. The Septuagint renders it with words for fir or plane trees in different places, which shows uncertainty even in antiquity.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 30:37 וְעֶרְמ֑וֹן and plane tree

    Jacob, however, took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled the bark, exposing the white inner wood of the branches.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 31:8 וְעַרְמֹנִ֥ים and plane trees

    The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it; the cypresses could not compare with its branches, nor the plane trees match its boughs. No tree in the garden of God could compare with its beauty.

    Here: 'And plane trees.' The oriental plane, a huge broad-crowned tree that grows by water and is known for its wide shade. It is not the chestnut of the KJV.

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