Terebinth
Plants and Trees in the Bible
Terebinths look like oaks but have pinnate leaves. The Atlantic terebinth may reach a height of 10 meters (33 feet). The Palestinian terebinth species is shorter, reaching to 5 meters (17 feet). The lentisk terebinth, or mastic (gum) tree, is a small shrub or tree 1–3 meters (3–10 feet) in height that produces a sweet-smelling resin when the stem or branches are cut. The resin dries into hard lumps, which are then ground and dissolved in olive oil for medicinal use, perfume, incense, varnish, and glue.
Pictures
In the Bible
The Hebrew and Greek words for it, and every verse where each is used
Tree
אֵלָה, אַלָּה ’elah, ’alah · 16 verses
אַיִל ’ayil · 4 verses
אֵלֶם ’elem · 1 verse
σχῖνος schinos · 1 verse
τερέμινθος tereminthos · 1 verse
Fruit
בָּטְנִים boten · 1 verse
Resin
צֳרִי tsori · 6 verses
What it stands for
Both of the larger terebinths were revered by ancient Israelites and other peoples. They built shrines and altars in the terebinth groves, and sometimes buried people there. The resin of the lentisk terebinth was highly prized for its medicinal value, which is why the Ishmaelites () and the sons of Jacob () were carrying them as trade goods to Egypt. uses the wide-spreading branches terebinth as a metaphor for wisdom.
More about it
The Hebrew words ’elah and ’alah refer to any of three species of terebinth mentioned in the Bible: 1) the Atlantic Terebinth Pistacia atlantica, 2) the Palestinian Terebinth Pistacia palaestina (or Pistacia terebinthus), and 3) the Lentisk Terebinth Pistacia lentiscus (or Pistacia lenticus), also called the mastic tree.
According to Zohary, the Atlantic terebinth, also called the teil tree, is found in the Negev, Lower Galilee, and the Dan Valley. Hepper says it was once abundant in Gilead, the trunk and bark being a possible source for aromatic resin (mastic) exported to Egypt. It is a dry-land tree that grows in the border areas between evergreen woodlands and the dwarf-shrub steppes (note “valley of Elah” in ). The nuts of the Atlantic terebinth are used for dyeing and tanning animal skins, but they can be eaten if roasted. They are often sold in Arab markets, are bigger than the nuts of the Palestinian terebinth, and are quite different from the true pistachio nuts, which come from outside the Holy Land (see below).
The Palestinian terebinth is found mostly on wooded hills, often together with the common oak. Its little round nuts can be eaten whole, fresh, or roasted, and it is probably these nuts (boten) that were carried to Egypt by the sons of Jacob (), although Zohary holds that they could also have been the fruit of the true pistachio tree (Pistacia vera), which was, and is, abundant in Persia (now Iran).
The lentisk terebinth is a shrub or bush that grew in the hills of Gilead, and may be the source of the “balm/resin” (tsori in Hebrew) carried by the Ishmaelites in , and by the sons of Jacob to Egypt along with pistachio nuts in . The fact that all mention Gilead in connection with the resin tsori, suggests that its source was a plant unique to Palestine. That is why it could be used to trade for goods from Egypt. The references in Jeremiah presumably refer to the salve made from the terebinth resin.
Also in Wild Trees and Shrubs
Sources
Plants and Trees in the Bible, Animals in the Bible and Human-made Things in the Bible © United Bible Societies, 2025 (adapted from Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible by Robert Koops, All Creatures Great and Small: Living Things in the Bible by Edward R. Hope, and The Works of Their Hands: Man-made Things in the Bible by Ray Pritz), CC BY-SA 4.0; adapted for eRhema