Topical Encyclopedia
The palm tree is a significant symbol and botanical feature in the biblical narrative, representing beauty, prosperity, and victory. It is mentioned numerous times throughout the Scriptures, often in contexts that highlight its importance in the ancient Near Eastern culture and its symbolic meanings.
Hebrew and Greek TermsIn the Hebrew Bible, the word for palm tree is "תָּמָר" (tamar), while in the New Testament Greek, it is referred to as "φοῖνιξ" (phoinix). These terms are used to describe the date palm, a tree known for its tall, slender trunk and lush, feathery fronds.
Biblical References1.
Symbol of Righteousness and Beauty: The palm tree is often used as a metaphor for righteousness and beauty.
Psalm 92:12 states, "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon." This imagery suggests strength, uprightness, and the ability to thrive in adverse conditions.
2.
Victory and Celebration: In ancient times, palm branches were symbols of victory and triumph. This is evident in the New Testament account of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where the crowd took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" (
John 12:13). This event is commemorated in the Christian tradition as Palm Sunday.
3.
Construction and Decoration: The palm tree was also used in the construction and decoration of sacred spaces. In
1 Kings 6:29, Solomon's temple is described as having carvings of palm trees, cherubim, and open flowers on the walls. This use underscores the palm's association with beauty and divine presence.
4.
Provision and Sustenance: The date palm was a vital source of food and resources in the ancient world. Its fruit, the date, was a staple in the diet of the people. In
Exodus 15:27, the Israelites camped at Elim, where there were "twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees," indicating a place of rest and sustenance during their wilderness journey.
5.
Symbol of Peace and Prosperity: The palm tree is also a symbol of peace and prosperity. In the prophetic vision of Ezekiel's temple, palm trees are depicted on the doors and walls, symbolizing the peace and prosperity that will characterize the Messianic age (
Ezekiel 41:18-20).
Cultural and Historical ContextIn the ancient Near East, the palm tree was a common sight and held economic and cultural significance. It was valued not only for its fruit but also for its wood, leaves, and fibers, which were used in various aspects of daily life. The palm's ability to grow in arid environments made it a symbol of life and endurance.
ConclusionThe palm tree, with its rich symbolism and practical uses, holds a prominent place in the biblical narrative. It serves as a powerful metaphor for righteousness, victory, and divine blessing, reflecting the values and hopes of the biblical authors and their communities.
ATS Bible Dictionary
Palm-TreeExodus 15:27. This tree is called in Hebrew tamar, from its straight upright, branchless growth, for which it seems more remarkable than any other tree; it sometimes rises to the height of a hundred feet.
The palm is one of the most beautiful trees of the vegetable kingdom. The stalks are generally full of rugged knots, which render it comparatively easy to climb to the top for the fruit, So 7:7, 8. These projections are the vestiges of the decayed leaves; for the trunk is not solid like other trees, but its center is filled with pith, round which is a tough bark, full of strong fibers when young, which, as the tree grows old, hardens and becomes ligneous. To this bark the leaves are closely joined, which in the center rise erect, but after they are advanced above the sheath that surrounds them, they expand very wide on every side the stem, and as the older leaves decay, the stalk advances in height. With its ever verdant and graceful crown continually aspiring towards heaven, it is an apt image of the soul growing in grace,Psalm 92:12. The leaves, when the tree has grown to a size for bearing fruit, are six to eight feet long, are very broad when spread out, and are used for covering the tops of houses, and similar purposes.
The fruit, from which the palm is often called the date-tree, grows below the leaves in clusters sometimes weighing over fifteen pounds, and is of a sweet and agreeable taste. The diligent natives, says Mr. Gibbon, celebrate, either in verse or prose, the three hundred and sixty uses to which the trunk, the branches or long leaf-stalks, the leaves, fibers, and fruit of the palm are skillfully applied. A considerable part of the inhabitants of Egypt, of Arabia, and Persia, subsist almost entirely on its fruit. They boast also of its medicinal virtues. Their camels feed upon the date stone. From the leaves they make couches, baskets, bags, mats, and brushes: from the branches or stalks, cages for their poultry, and fences for their gardens; from the fiber of the trunk, thread, ropes, and rigging; from the sap is prepared a spirituous liquor; and the body of the tree furnishes fuel: it is even said that from one variety of the palm-tree, the phoenix farinifera, meal has been extracted, which is found among the fibers of the trunk, and has been used for food.
Several parts of the Holy Land, no less than of Idumea, that lay contiguous to it, are described by the ancients to have abounded with date-trees. Judea particularly is typified in several coins of Vespasian by a desconsolate woman sitting under a palm-tree, with the inscription, JUDEA CAPTA. In De 34:3, Jericho is called the "city of palm-trees;" and several of these trees are still found in that vicinity; but in general they are now rare in Palestine. Palm wreaths, and branches waved in the air or strown on the road, are associated not only with the honors paid to ancient conquerors in the Grecian games and in war, but with the triumphant entry of the King of Zion into Jerusalem,John 12:12-13, and with his more glorious triumph with his people in heaven,Revelation 7:9.
Greek
5404. phoinix -- the date palm, a palm... the date palm, a palm. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: phoinix
Phonetic Spelling: (foy'-nix) Short Definition: a
palm tree, palm branch
...Strong's Hebrew
8558. tamar --palm tree, date palm... 8557, 8558. tamar. 8559 .
palm tree, date palm. Transliteration: tamar Phonetic
Spelling: (taw-mawr') Short Definition: trees.
...palm tree.
...8561. timorah --palm (tree) figure
... 8560, 8561. timorah. 8562 .palm (tree) figure. Transliteration: timorah Phonetic
Spelling: (tim-more') Short Definition: trees....palm tree....
8560. tomer --palm tree, post
... 8559, 8560. tomer. 8561 .palm tree, post. Transliteration: tomer Phonetic
Spelling: (to'-mer) Short Definition: tree....palm tree....
3712. kippah -- a branch, frond (of apalm tree)
... 3711, 3712. kippah. 3713 . a branch, frond (of apalm tree). Transliteration:
kippah Phonetic Spelling: (kip-paw') Short Definition: branch. Word Origin fem...
385. Ithamar -- "land of palms," a son of Aaron
... Ithamar. From 'iy and tamar; coast of thepalm-tree; Ithamar, a son of Aaron --
Ithamar. see HEBREW 'iy. see HEBREW tamar. 384, 385. Ithamar. 386 ....
2688. Chatsatson Tamar -- a place on the W. side of the Dead Sea
... Or Chatsatson Tamar {khats-ats-one' taw-mawr'}; from chatsats and tamar; division
(ie Perhaps row) of (the)palm-tree; Chatsetson-tamar, a place in Palestine...
1193. Baal Tamar -- "possessor of palms," a place near Gibeah
... Baal-tamar. From ba'al and tamar; possessor of (the)palm-tree; Baal-Tamar, a place
in Palestine -- Baal-tamar. see HEBREW ba'al. see HEBREW tamar. 1192, 1193...
3709. kaph -- hollow or flat of the hand, palm, sole (of the foot)...
... palm (so of the paw of an animal, of the sole, and even of the bowl of a dish or
sling, the handle of a bolt, the leaves of apalm-tree); figuratively, power...
Library
This Thy Stature is Like to aPalmtree, and Thy Breasts to...
... CHAPTER VII. 7. This thy stature is like to apalmtree, and thy breasts
to clusters of grapes. Thy stature, that is, thy whole soul...
Said, I Will Go up to thePalmtree, and I Will Take Hold of the...
... 8. I said, I will go up to thepalmtree, and I will take hold of the fruit thereof;
and thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy...
And it came to Pass on the Third Day of their Journey...
... of their journey, while they were walking, that the blessed Mary was fatigued by
the excessive heat of the sun in the desert; and seeing apalm tree, she said...
Chapter vii
... 6.7. This thy stature is like to apalm tree and thy breasts to clusters of
grapes.7. 8. I said, I will go up to thepalm tree, I will take hold of the boughs...
Firm to the End.
... There is a fable of the Persians which tells us how a gourd wound itself round
a loftypalm-tree, and in a few weeks climbed to its very top....
Psalm XCII.
... "The righteous shall flourish like apalm tree" (ver.12).... When the sun hath
gone forth, doth thepalm-tree wither? Doth the cedar die?...
And on the Day After, when they were Setting Out Thence...
... setting out thence, and in the hour in which they began their journey, Jesus turned
to the palm, and said: This privilege I give thee, Opalm tree, that one of...
The "Sayings" of Pythagoras.
... "Plant not apalm tree in a house;" (meaning,) foment not discord in a family,
for thepalm tree is a symbol of battle and slaughter....
Fruits of Recognized Union
... Grace has made her like thepalm-tree, the emblem alike of uprightness and of
fruitfulness.... The righteous shall flourish like thepalm-tree:...
The General Service to one Martyr.
... undying theology. The Versicle : The righteous shall flourish like the
palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Raised...
Thesaurus
Palm-tree (8 Occurrences)Palm-
tree. Palms,
Palm-
tree. Palm-trees . Multi-Version Concordance
Palm-
tree (8 Occurrences). Judges 4:5 And she dwelt
...Deborah (10 Occurrences)
... a "mother in Israel" (Judges 4:6, 14; 5:7), and "the children of Israel came up
to her for judgment" as she sat in her tent under thepalmtree "between Ramah...
Baal-tamar (1 Occurrence)
... It was one of the sanctuaries or groves of Baal. Probably thepalmtree of Deborah
(Judges 4:5) is alluded to in the name. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia....
Baaltamar (1 Occurrence)
... It was one of the sanctuaries or groves of Baal. Probably thepalmtree of Deborah
(Judges 4:5) is alluded to in the name. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia....
Palm (49 Occurrences)
...Palmtree. (Hebrews tamar), the date-palm characteristic of Palestine.... Branches of
thepalmtree were carried at the feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:40)....
Carved (36 Occurrences)
... (See RSV). Ezekiel 41:18 It was made with cherubim and palm trees; and apalmtree
was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces; (See NAS NIV)....
Palm-trees (23 Occurrences)
Palm-trees.Palm-tree, Palm-trees. Palsied . Multi-Version Concordance... (See
JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT).Palm-tree, Palm-trees. Palsied . Reference Bible.
Lion's (14 Occurrences)
... Ezekiel 41:19 and the face of man 'is' unto thepalm-tree on this side, and the
face of a young lion unto thepalm-tree on that side; it is made unto all the...
Breasts (39 Occurrences)
... Song of Songs 7:7 This, your stature, is like apalmtree, your breasts like its
fruit.... Song of Songs 7:8 I said, "I will climb up into thepalmtree....
Clusters (12 Occurrences)
... (See NAS). Song of Songs 7:7 This thy stature is like to apalmtree, and thy breasts
to clusters of grapes. (KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)....
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