Bible Dictionary
Mulberry
The mulberry trees mentioned in David’s battles were probably poplars or aspens whose leaves rustled in the wind. The sound among their tops served as a sign that God was going before David’s army.
Definition
The trees called mulberry trees in the accounts of David’s battles were probably aspens or trembling poplars, though the identification is uncertain. Their leaves could rustle with every breath of wind.
Biblical Usage
The sound among the treetops served as a sign that the Lord had gone before David’s army. It was understood as rustling like the movement or marching of an army.
Historical Background
Black poplars, aspens, and Lombardy poplars grew in Palestine. Such trees occurred near watercourses, ravines, and parts of Lebanon and southern Palestine.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Heb. bakah, “to weep;” rendered “Baca” (R.V., “weeping”) in Ps. 84:6. The plural form of the Hebrew bekaim is rendered “mulberry trees” in 2 Sam. 5:23, 24 and 1 Chr. 14:14, 15. The tree here alluded to was probably the aspen or trembling poplar. “We know with certainty that the black poplar, the aspen, and the Lombardy poplar grew in Palestine. The aspen, whose long leaf-stalks cause the leaves to tremble with every breath of wind, unites with the willow and the oak to overshadow the watercourses of the Lebanon, and with the oleander and the acacia to adorn the ravines of Southern Palestine” (Kitto). By “the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees” we are to understand a rustling among the trees like the marching of an army. This was the signal that the Lord himself would lead forth David’s army to victory. (See SYCAMINE.)