Fir

The uniform rendering in the Authorized Version (marg. R.V., “cypress”) of berosh (2 Sam. 6:5; 1 Kings 5:8, 10; 6:15, 34; 9:11, etc.), a lofty tree (Isa. 55:13) growing on Lebanon (37:24). Its wood was used in making musical instruments and doors of houses, and for ceilings (2 Chr. 3:5), the decks of ships (Ezek. 27:5), floorings and spear-shafts (Nah. 2:3, R.V.). The true fir (abies) is not found in Palestine, but the pine tree, of which there are four species, is common.

The precise kind of tree meant by the “green fir tree” (Hos. 14:8) is uncertain. Some regard it as the sherbin tree, a cypress resembling the cedar; others, the Aleppo or maritime pine (Pinus halepensis), which resembles the Scotch fir; while others think that the “stone-pine” (Pinus pinea) is probably meant. (See PINE.)