Lexical Summary
tamar: palm trees, palm, palm tree
Original Word:תָּמָר
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:tamar
Pronunciation:tah-MAHR
Phonetic Spelling:(taw-mawr')
KJV: palm (tree)
NASB:palm trees, palm, palm tree, date palms, palms
Word Origin:[from an unused root meaning to be erect]
1. a palm tree
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
palm tree
From an unused root meaning to be erect; a palm tree -- palm (tree).
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom the same as
tomerDefinitionpalm tree, date palm
NASB Translationdate palms (1), palm (3), palm tree (3), palm trees (4), palms (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
I. ,
Phoenix dactylifera; —
Joel 1:12; in simile of prosperity
Psalm 92:13, of (graceful) stature Cant 7:8, compare (figurative)
Songs 7:9; plural in oasis
Exodus 15:27 (J), ""
Numbers 33:9 (P);
Leviticus 23:40 (H)
palm-branches, compare
Nehemiah 8:15; = Jericho
Deuteronomy 34:3 (JE), 2 Chronicles 28:15;
Judges 1:16;
Judges 3:13. — See Post
Hast. DBPALM-TREE M'Lean
Ency. Bib. ID. Tr
NHB 378 ff. Theob. Fischer
Dattelpalme, 1881.
Topical Lexicon
OverviewStrong’s Hebrew 8558 designates the date-palm tree (tamar). Across its twelve Old Testament occurrences the palm stands as a vivid emblem of refreshment, vitality, victory, and righteous flourishing. Because the tree thrives where water is present and bears sweet, nourishing fruit, Scripture frequently places it at strategic junctures of Israel’s journey, worship, and prophetic hope.
Botanical and Cultural Background
Well adapted to arid climates, the date-palm can reach twenty metres, remain verdant year-round, and carry heavy clusters of fruit. Ancient Israel valued its shade, sap, leaves, wood, and abundant dates. Throughout the Near East it marked oases, trade routes, and city identities (Jericho’s very name, “city of palms,”Deuteronomy 34:3).
Oases and Wilderness Provision
After the Red Sea crossing, the first significant staging ground is Elim: “There were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the waters” (Exodus 15:27; cf.Numbers 33:9). Between bondage and Sinai, God furnishes both water and palms—visual testimony that He can sustain His people in a trackless wasteland.
Jericho—the City of Palms
Four texts (Deuteronomy 34:3;Judges 1:16;Judges 3:13;2 Chronicles 28:15) call Jericho “the city of palm trees,” suggesting a dense grove visible even from Moses’ vantage on Pisgah. The designation underscores Jericho’s attractiveness and strategic value. When Moab’s Eglon seized the city (Judges 3:13), he was capturing more than real estate; he was laying claim to a symbol of Israel’s God-given fertility. Centuries later, compassionate Ephraimites brought rescued Judahite captives to Jericho’s palms for rest and restoration (2 Chronicles 28:15), turning a scene of former judgment into one of mercy.
Liturgical and Festal Use
Leviticus 23:40 commands palm branches for the Feast of Booths: “On the first day you are to take the product of beautiful trees—branches of palm trees…—and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.”Nehemiah 8:15 records post-exilic Israel obeying that very injunction. The palm’s evergreen fronds, waved in corporate joy, portray the faithful God who preserved His people through the wilderness. The same imagery resurfaces when a multitude “from every nation” holds palm branches before the Lamb (Revelation 7:9), binding the Old Covenant festival to final redemption.
Poetic Imagery of Righteousness and Love
Psalm 92:12 extols covenant loyalty with agricultural metaphor: “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree; he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” Palms do not sprawl; they rise straight, crowned with fruit at the top—an apt picture of upright lives that draw unseen nourishment from God and bear spiritual sweetness in later years (Psalm 92:14).
Song of Songs employs the palm for nuptial praise: “Your stature is like a palm tree, and your breasts are clusters of fruit. I said, ‘I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its fruit’” (Song of Songs 7:7-8). The lover’s desire to “climb” evokes both delight and the effort required to reach love’s rewards, hinting at Christ’s pursuit of His bride.
Prophetic Warning
Joel laments a locust plague so severe that “the pomegranate, the palm, and the apple tree—all the trees of the field are dried up” (Joel 1:12). When even hardy palms wither, the judgment is acute. The devastation contrasts sharply with earlier scenes of flourishing, urging repentance so that blessing may be restored.
Theological Themes
1. Sustenance in pilgrimage—Elim’s palms witness God’s covenant care.
2. Victory and inheritance—Jericho’s palms frame both conquest and loss, reminding Israel that lasting dominion depends on obedience.
3. Joyful worship—Palm branches in Feast of Booths and Revelation signify redeemed celebration.
4. Righteous perseverance—Palms live long and fruit late, mirroring believers who “still bear fruit in old age” (Psalm 92:14).
5. Judgment versus renewal—Joel’s withered palms warn, yet restored palms foretell eschatological abundance (cf.Ezekiel 47: palm-decorated temple).
Ministry Application
• Encourage the weary: as God placed Elim after Marah, He still provides seasons of refreshment when the journey grows harsh.
• Model upright endurance: cultivate hidden roots in Scripture and prayer, trusting God to produce visible fruit in due season.
• Celebrate redemption publicly: incorporate joyful symbols—much as palm branches once filled Jerusalem—to rehearse Christ’s victory.
• Intercede for revival: Joel’s dried palms compel believers to seek spiritual renewal until communities once again “flourish like a palm tree.”
The tamar thus stands as a gracious reminder that the Lord can make the desert rejoice, the righteous remain evergreen, and every redeemed nation lift triumphant palms before His throne.
Forms and Transliterations
בְתָמָ֔ר בתמר הַתְּמָרִ֖ים הַתְּמָרִֽים׃ הַתְּמָרִים֙ התמרים התמרים׃ כַּתָּמָ֣ר כתמר לְתָמָ֔ר לתמר תְּמָרִ֑ים תְּמָרִ֔ים תְּמָרִ֖ים תְמָרִ֔ים תָּמָ֣ר תמר תמרים ḇə·ṯā·mār ḇəṯāmār hat·tə·mā·rîm hattemaRim hattəmārîm kat·tā·mār kattaMar kattāmār lə·ṯā·mār letaMar ləṯāmār tā·mār taMar tāmār tə·mā·rîm ṯə·mā·rîm temaRim təmārîm ṯəmārîm vetaMar
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