Bible Dictionary
Pine tree
The “pine tree” is an uncertain translation of several Hebrew tree names. The references may denote a pine, cypress, wild olive, elm, or another tree found in Lebanon and Palestine.
Definition
The biblical “pine tree” is an uncertain identification for several Hebrew tree names. The terms may refer to a pine, cypress, wild olive, oil tree, plane, elm, or another tree, depending on the passage.
Biblical Usage
The tree appears in passages describing the planting or beauty of the land, including Isaiah and Nehemiah. The Revised Version renders some occurrences as “wild olive” or “oil tree” rather than pine.
Historical Background
Two species of pine are plentiful in Lebanon and can grow in much of Palestine. Other proposals include cypress, elm, oak, holm, and plane. The supplied material emphasizes that the identification remains uncertain.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Heb. tidhar, mentioned along with the fir-tree in Isa. 41:19; 60:13. This is probably the cypress; or it may be the stone-pine, which is common on the northern slopes of Lebanon. Some suppose that the elm, others that the oak, or holm, or ilex, is meant by the Hebrew word. In Neh. 8:15 the Revised Version has “wild olive” instead of “pine.” (See FIR.)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>pin tre: (1) `ets shemen, translated the Revised Version (British and American) "wild olive," the King James Version "pine" (Ne 8:15); the Revised Version (British and American) "oil-tree," m "oleaster" (Isa 41:19); "olive-wood" (1Ki 6:23,31-33). See OIL TREE. (2) tidhhar (Isa 41:19, margin "plane"; Isa 60:13); peuke, "fir." Lagarde, from similarity of tidhhar to the Syriac deddar, usually the "elm," considers this the best translation. Symmachus also translated tidhhar (Isa 41:19) by ptelea, the "elm." The elm, Ulmus campestris, is rare in Palestine and the Lebanon, though it is found today N. of Aleppo. Post (HDB, III, 592-93) considers that</p><p>(1) should be translated as "pine," which he describes as a "fat wood tree"; it is perhaps as probably a correct translation for</p><p>(2), but great uncertainty remains.</p><p>Two species of pine are plentiful in the Lebanon and flourish in most parts of Palestine when given a chance. These are the stone pine, Pinus pinea, and the Aleppo pine, P. halepensis; all the highlands looking toward the sea are suited to their growth.</p><p>E. W. G. Masterman</p>