CYPRESS
[Heb., teʼash·shurʹ].
The Hebrew name of this tree comes from a root word meaning “erectness; straightness.” It is included along with other trees as forming part of the “glory of Lebanon,” and this is indicative of the place where it grew and also suggests a tree of desirable qualities or impressive appearance. The “box tree” referred to in the Authorized Version is not a likely translation since, according to some authorities (see Unger’s Bible Dictionary, p. 1134; The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 2, p. 292), the box tree does not grow in Palestine, and in Syria is only a small shrub. The cypress is considered by many to be the tree probably referred to by this Hebrew word at Isaiah 41:19; 60:13.—See Moffatt’s translation; W. Corswant, A Dictionary of Life in Bible Times, page 55; The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Volume 1, page 459; Volume 2, page 292; Koehler and Baumgartner, Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros, page 1017.
The cypress is an evergreen of the cone-bearing family with dark-green foliage and branches that extend upward somewhat like those of the Lombardy poplar. It has an average height of from thirty to fifty feet (9.1 to 15.2 meters) but at times may grow as high as eighty feet (24.4 meters). It is commonly cultivated throughout Palestine; some specimens have been found growing wild in Gilead and Edom; and it is said to be the only tree able to live at the summit of Mount Lebanon. The wood has a rich reddish hue is fragrant and of great durability. It was possibly employed by the Phoenicians, Cretans and Greeks in shipbuilding (Ezek. 27:6 [NW, ftn. b, 1960 ed.]), and it is suggested that the “resinous tree” from which Noah obtained wood for the ark was the cypress tree.—Gen. 6:14; see RESINOUS TREE.
At Isaiah 41:19 Jehovah promises to cause trees growing normally in fertile lands to thrive in desert areas as well, and, in a prophecy concerning Zion’s future exaltation and prosperity, it is foretold that the cypress, along with the ash and the juniper, will be used to beautify the place of God’s sanctuary.—Isa. 60:13.