JUNIPER

1. [Heb., berohshʹ]. The Hebrew term for this tree has been given various meanings, such as “fir,” “cypress”; however, some lexicographers recommend the juniper tree on good basis. (See Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros, by L. Koehler and W. Baumgartner, Leiden, 1958, p. 148; The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, edited by G. A. Buttrick, 1962, Vol. 2, p. 293.) Since the tree was imported from Lebanon by King Solomon (1Ki 5:8-10; 9:11; 2Ch 2:8), it may be identified with the Juniperus excelsa, a tall, robust evergreen growing up to 20 m (66 ft) in height, with spreading branches, small scalelike leaves, and dark, small, globular fruit. It is highly fragrant. The timber from this juniper tree is greatly valued for its durability.

The Juniperus excelsa is a native of Lebanon and is regularly associated with that land, being included with other trees as the “glory of Lebanon.” (2Ki 19:23; Isa 14:8; 37:24; 60:13) The psalmist spoke of the juniper trees as the “house,” or nesting place, of storks. (Ps 104:17) Juniper wood was used extensively in the temple built by Solomon. (2Ch 3:5) The leaves of the main doors were made of juniper wood (1Ki 6:34), and the floor was overlaid with it. (1Ki 6:15) It is elsewhere spoken of as being used for rafters (Ca 1:17), planking for ships (Eze 27:5), spear shafts (Na 2:3), and musical instruments (2Sa 6:5). As a luxuriant tree, it is used in the restoration prophecies to describe the beauty and fruitful fertility to be brought to the land of God’s people.​—Isa 41:19; 55:13; 60:13.

2. [Heb., ʽaroh·ʽerʹ or ʽar·ʽarʹ]. The Arabic word ʽarʽar aids in identifying this tree as probably the Juniperus phoenicia, a shrublike tree to be found in the Sinai region and also in the area of the Desert of Edom. The root word in the Hebrew from which the tree’s name is drawn has the idea of “nakedness” or being “stripped” (compare Ps 102:17), and this dwarf juniper is correspondingly described as of rather gloomy appearance, growing in rocky parts of the desert and on crags. It is fittingly used in the book of Jeremiah when comparing the man whose heart turns away from Jehovah with “a solitary tree [ʽar·ʽarʹ] in the desert plain,” and also in warning the Moabites to take flight and become “like a juniper tree [ka·ʽaroh·ʽerʹ] in the wilderness.”​—Jer 17:5, 6; 48:1, 6 (see, however, ftn).