Bible Encyclopedias
Box-Tree

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

box´trē ( תּאשׁוּר , te'ashshūr ; Isaiah 41:19; Isaiah 60:13 , "boxwood" Ezekiel 27:6 ): A tree of uncertain identity, which must once have been common in the forests of Lebanon. According to Post (HDB , I, 313), "The only species of box found in Bible lands is Buxus longifolia , which is a shrub from 2 to 3 ft. high. It does not grow South of Mt. Cassius and it is unlikely that it did in historical times."

As an alternative to the box the cypress, Cupressus sempervirens - known in Arabic as Sherbı̄n - has been suggested. It is a fine tree and was probably once plentiful, but as it seems to answer to the berosh (see FIR ), it cannot well be the te'ashshūr ̌ . There is nothing certain to go upon.