Cedar

Biblical Occurrences

The cedar appears frequently in the Old Testament. Its uses may be grouped as follows.

• Building material: David built his palace with cedar sent by Hiram, king of Tyre (2 Samuel 5:11). He told Nathan, "See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains" (2 Samuel 7:2), expressing his desire to build a temple. Solomon received cedars of Lebanon from Hiram and had them floated by sea (1 Kings 5), then used them to line the interior of the temple (1 Kings 6). One of the palace buildings, with its rows of cedar pillars, was called "the house of the forest of Lebanon" (1 Kings 7:2). After the Babylonian exile, during the rebuilding of the temple, cedar from Lebanon was likewise brought to Joppa (Ezra 3:7).
• Purification rites: Cedar wood was used together with hyssop and scarlet in the rite for cleansing a person healed of leprosy (Leviticus 14:4) and in the burning of the red heifer (Numbers 19:6).
• Metaphor and symbol: Psalm 92:12 says that the righteous "shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon." Conversely, Isaiah 2:13 and Ezekiel 31 compare lofty cedars to proud people and nations (Assyria) and declare that they will be cut down. Cedars also appear in Jotham's fable in Judges 9:15 and in 2 Kings 14:9.

Background

The Hebrew word erez is generally understood to refer to the cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani), native to the mountains of Lebanon. Some, however, hold that the term may also have encompassed other conifers. The Korean name baekhyangmok (柏香木) is a translated term conveying the sense of "fragrant tree." The cedar grows tall and straight, is aromatic, and yields timber known for its resistance to decay, so it was highly prized in the ancient Near East. Because it did not grow in the land of Israel, it had to be imported through Phoenicia (Tyre). It was therefore a material that displayed royal wealth and authority, and Jeremiah 22:14–15 rebukes King Jehoiakim for paneling his house with cedar. The statement that Solomon spoke of plants "from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall" (1 Kings 4:33) uses the greatest tree and the smallest herb as the two extremes of the plant world.

Significance Across Scripture

As trees that God has planted, cedars represent life and flourishing (Psalm 104:16). At the same time, they represent human loftiness that is broken before God (Psalm 29:5). In Ezekiel 17:22–24 God says that He will take a tender twig from the top of a cedar, plant it on a high mountain, and cause birds of every kind to dwell in it. The word "cedar" does not appear in the New Testament. However, because the image of birds nesting in the branches resembles the parable of the mustard seed (Matthew 13:32), some interpreters see that parable as evoking Ezekiel's imagery.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• The tender twig of Ezekiel 17: Christian tradition often reads this twig as a prophecy of the Messiah who would come from the line of David (messianic prophecy). Other interpreters see it primarily as speaking of the restoration of the Davidic dynasty.
• Cedar in the purification rites: Some interpreters take the cedar of Leviticus and Numbers as a type of the cross. This is a later symbolic interpretation not stated directly in the text.
• Symbol of the righteous: It is common to apply the cedar's longevity and resistance to decay to the faith of the righteous. What the text of Psalm 92 directly speaks of, however, is growing and flourishing; qualities such as incorruptibility are an added application borrowed from the properties of the timber.