Lexical Summary
erez: Cedar
Original Word:אֶרֶז
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:erez
Pronunciation:EH-rez
Phonetic Spelling:(eh-rez')
KJV: cedar (tree)
NASB:cedar, cedars
Word Origin:[fromH729 (אָרַז - To gather)]
1. a cedar tree (from the tenacity of its roots)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
cedar tree
From'araz; a cedar tree (from the tenacity of its roots) -- cedar (tree).
see HEBREW'araz
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom an unused word (729)
Definitiona cedar
NASB Translationcedar (48), cedars (25).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
Ezekiel 17:23 ; —
Ezekiel 17:22 , but strike out Co; — (Arabic
pine-tree, etc.; Ethiopic
Syriac
) — absolute
Leviticus 14:4 19t.,
Job 40:17 6t.; plural
Isaiah 9:9 35t.; construct
Isaiah 2:13 5t.; suffix
Jeremiah 22:17;
Zechariah 11:1;
Isaiah 37:24 =
2 Kings 19:23; —
cedar-tree, (a)as growingNumbers 24:6;Psalm 148:9;Isaiah 41:19;Isaiah 44:14 compareEzekiel 31:8; especially as growing on Lebanon1 Kings 5:13;2 Kings 14:9 2Chronicles 25:18 (both in fable of Jehoash); oftenJudges 9:15;Isaiah 2:13;Isaiah 14:8;Psalm 29:5 (twice in verse) (figurative)Psalm 104:16, compare1 Kings 5:20;2 Kings 19:23 =Isaiah 37:24;Psalm 92:13;Songs 5:15;Ezekiel 27:5 (singular collective)Zechariah 11:1,2(figurative);Songs 1:17;Ezra 3:7;Jeremiah 22:23 (figurative)Ezekiel 17:3 (figurative); (b) especially in simile, of outward power, stateliness & majestyPsalm 80:11 ( ) compareEzekiel 31:3 (personified, but see Co on text),Amos 2:9; of individualsJeremiah 22:7;Psalm 92:13;Ezekiel 17:22,23; compare other examples of figurative use, above; simile of straightness & strengthJob 40:17 (tail of hippopotamus).
cedar-timber, cedar-wood for building,1 Samuel 5:11;1 Kings 5:22;1 Kings 5:24;1 Kings 6:10;1 Kings 9:11;1 Chronicles 14:1;1 Chronicles 22:4 (twice in verse); 2Chron 2:7;Ezra 3:7; without2 Samuel 7:2,7;1 Kings 6:9,15,16,18 (twice in verse);1 Kings 6:20,36;1 Kings 7:2 (twice in verse);1 Kings 7:3,7,11,12;1 Kings 10:27;1 Chronicles 17:1;1 Chronicles 17:6; 2Chron 1:15; 2 Chronicles 2:3; 2 Chronicles 9:27 &Songs 8:9;Isaiah 9:9;Jeremiah 22:14,15 (compare alsoIsaiah 44:14;1 Kings 5:20;Ezekiel 27:5;Ezra 3:7 above)
cedar-wood used in purifications, withLeviticus 14:4,6,49,51,52;Numbers 19:6 (all P).
Topical Lexicon
Entry 730 – Cedar (אֶרֶז, ’erez)Botanical and Geographic Profile
A tall, fragrant conifer native to the high ridges of Lebanon, Hermon, and the Amanus range, the cedar was famed in the ancient Near East for its straight trunk, resistance to decay, and abundant resin. Israel did not possess large cedar forests; therefore kings and builders looked north to Lebanon and hired Phoenician lumbermen for felling and transport (1 Kings 5:6;Ezra 3:7). The image of mountains crowned with cedars became a poetic shorthand for the glory of creation (Psalm 104:16).
Architectural and Artistic Use
Cedar supplied the framework, paneling, and décor of Israel’s most important buildings.
• Solomon’s Temple: “So Solomon built the temple and finished it, roofing it with beams and planks of cedar” (1 Kings 6:9). Inside walls, floors, and altar were sheathed in carved cedar (1 Kings 6:15–18, 20).
• Royal Palaces: David’s house (2 Samuel 5:11), Solomon’s “House of the Forest of Lebanon” (1 Kings 7:2), and Ahab’s palace (1 Kings 22:39) all featured cedar throughout. Jeremiah rebukes Jehoiakim for coveting “a house paneled in cedar” while exploiting his people (Jeremiah 22:14–15).
• Post-exilic Temple: Cedars of Lebanon again supplied beams for the second temple (Ezra 3:7).
The material thus became inseparably linked to worship, covenant, and national identity.
Cultic and Ceremonial Use
Cedar figures in two purification rites that foreshadow Christ’s atoning work.
• Leprous cleansing (Leviticus 14:4–6): a piece of cedar, hyssop, scarlet yarn, and the blood of a bird released over living water declare the cleansed person accepted back into the community.
• Red heifer sacrifice (Numbers 19:6): cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool burned with the heifer produce ashes for the water of purification used to remove defilement from death.
Both rituals unite cedar’s enduring, incorruptible character with the promise of life restored through substitutionary blood.
Symbolic Themes
Majesty and Strength
The cedar’s stature makes it a ready emblem of royal greatness. “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree; he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon” (Psalm 92:12). Solomon’s encyclopedic knowledge “from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows in the wall” (1 Kings 4:33) spans the created order, placing cedar at the summit.
Human Pride and Divine Judgment
Isaiah indicts arrogant nations and individuals who exalt themselves “against all the cedars of Lebanon—lofty and lifted up” (Isaiah 2:13). Assyrian kings boasted of felling cedars (2 Kings 19:23;Isaiah 37:24), yet Yahweh’s voice “breaks the cedars” (Psalm 29:5). The axe laid to cedars foretells the humbling of the proud.
Messianic and Eschatological Hope
Ezekiel 17:22–24 pictures the Lord transplanting a tender twig from a cedar’s top to become a “stately cedar” sheltering birds—anticipating the universal kingdom of the Messiah.Isaiah 60:13 foresees cedars adorning the future sanctuary: “The glory of Lebanon will come to you—the cypress, elm, and box tree together—to adorn the place of My sanctuary.” The same wood once used in the first temple will beautify the millennial house, testifying to covenant continuity.
Literary and Poetic Imagery
• Stability: “His body is polished ivory decorated with sapphires; his legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold” (Song of Solomon 5:15) parallels the beloved’s strength with cedar beams (Song of Solomon 1:17).
• Fertility: cedars drip sap (Psalm 104:16), a sign of abundance.
• Contrast: from cedar’s heights to hyssop’s lowliness illustrate extremes (1 Kings 4:33), encouraging humility.
Historical Notes
Hiram of Tyre’s cedars floated as rafts to Joppa (2 Chronicles 2:16). Tiglath-Pileser, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar listed cedar-cutting campaigns on inscriptions, confirming Biblical references to imperial lumbering. Modern cores from surviving Lebanese cedars show age spans matching Biblical eras, underscoring Scripture’s historical reliability.
Everyday and Medicinal Uses
Cedar oil served as a preservative and fragrance; shavings repelled insects from scrolls and garments. Its imperviousness to rot typified permanence, explaining why cedar coffins and tablets survived millennia in the dry climate of Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Theological Reflections
Cedar’s prominence in the temple anticipates the Person it signifies. The incorruptible wood overlaid with gold typifies the sinless humanity and divine glory of Christ. The house “built of cedar inside” (1 Kings 6:18) foreshadows the Church indwelt by the Spirit, “built together into a dwelling place for God” (Ephesians 2:22). As the righteous grow “like a cedar,” the believer’s steadfastness derives from union with the true Temple and true Cedar, Jesus Christ.
Representative References
Numbers 19:6;Leviticus 14:4–6, 49;2 Samuel 5:11;1 Kings 4:33;1 Kings 5:6–10;1 Kings 6:9–20;1 Kings 7:2;1 Kings 10:27;2 Kings 19:23;1 Chronicles 17:1;2 Chronicles 2:8–16;Ezra 3:7;Nehemiah 8:15;Psalm 29:5;Psalm 92:12;Psalm 104:16;Isaiah 2:13;Isaiah 14:8;Isaiah 37:24;Isaiah 60:13;Jeremiah 22:14–23;Ezekiel 17:22–24;Ezekiel 31:3;Hosea 14:5–6;Amos 2:9;Zechariah 11:1.
Forms and Transliterations
אֲרָזִ֑ים אֲרָזִ֔ים אֲרָזִ֖ים אֲרָזִ֛ים אֲרָזִ֜ים אֲרָזִ֣ים אֲרָזִ֤ים אֲרָזִ֨ים אֲרָזִֽים׃ אֲרָזִים֙ אֲרָזֶ֔יךָ אֲרָזָיו֙ אֶ֔רֶז אֶ֛רֶז אֶ֣רֶז אֶ֤רֶז אַֽרְזֵ֥י אַֽרְזֵי־ אַרְזֵ֣י אַרְזֵ֥י אָ֑רֶז אָֽרֶז׃ ארז ארז׃ ארזי ארזי־ ארזיו ארזיך ארזים ארזים׃ בַּאֲרָזֶֽיךָ׃ בָּֽאֲרָזִ֑ים בָּאֶ֔רֶז בָּאֶ֗רֶז בָּאָ֔רֶז בָאָ֑רֶז בארז בארזיך׃ בארזים הָ֠אֶרֶז הָאֲרָזִ֗ים הָאֶ֙רֶז֙ הָאֶ֛רֶז הָאֶ֜רֶז הָאָֽרֶז׃ הארז הארז׃ הארזים וְאֶ֤רֶז וַאֲרָזִ֖ים וָאָֽרֶז׃ וארז וארז׃ וארזים כְּאֶ֖רֶז כַּאֲרָזִ֖ים כָּאֲרָזִֽים׃ כארז כארזים כארזים׃ לְאֶ֣רֶז לארז ’ă·rā·zāw ’ă·rā·ze·ḵā ’ă·rā·zîm ’ā·rez ’ar·zê ’ar·zê- ’ărāzāw ’ărāzeḵā ’ărāzîm ’ārez ’arzê ’arzê- ’e·rez ’erez araZav araZeicha araZim Arez arZei ba’ărāzeḵā bā’ărāzîm bā’ārez ḇā’ārez bā’erez ba·’ă·rā·ze·ḵā bā·’ă·rā·zîm bā·’ā·rez ḇā·’ā·rez bā·’e·rez baaraZeicha baaraZim baArez baErez Erez hā’ărāzîm hā’ārez hā’erez hā·’ă·rā·zîm hā·’ā·rez hā·’e·rez haaraZim haArez haErez ka’ărāzîm kā’ărāzîm ka·’ă·rā·zîm kā·’ă·rā·zîm kaaraZim kə’erez kə·’e·rez keErez lə’erez lə·’e·rez leErez vaaraZim vaArez veErez wa’ărāzîm wā’ārez wa·’ă·rā·zîm wā·’ā·rez wə’erez wə·’e·rez
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