And They Spoke of Trees

As a child I looked out on my back lawn whose border was formed by six towering pine trees. Playing “house” in those pines gave me a profound sense of rootedness. In the middle of that lawn lived a mighty eucalyptus whose shelter from the hot sun extended shade across the lawn as it loomed magnificently over my house. The front lawn hosted a stately maple that conveyed steadiness and beauty. To me pine, eucalyptus, and maple represented home, shelter and stability, primal human needs.

The biblical authors often appear to understand trees in much the same way. Though they clearly delight in the physical presence of literal trees, they also appreciate and equate the attributes and anatomy of trees—their roots, branches, height, beauty and stumps—with human experience.^[1]

The Role of Trees at Creation: Genesis

YHWH creates trees immediately after the creation of the human in the second creation story, highlighting trees’ essential relationship to humanity. They represent what the human needs to flourish, a sustenance both aesthetic (pleasant to look at) and material (good for eating):^[2]

^{בראשׁית ב:ט} וַיַּצְמַח יְ־הוָה אֱלֹהִים מִן הָאֲדָמָה כָּל עֵץ נֶחְמָד לְמַרְאֶה וְטוֹב לְמַאֲכָל וְעֵץ הַחַיִּים בְּתוֹךְ הַגָּן וְעֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע.

^{Gen 2:9} And YHWH God caused to grow from the earth all trees pleasant in appearance and good for eating and the tree of life in the midst of the garden and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.^[3]

Important human values are imposed on these two trees: One gifts us life, the other a knowledge of good and evil that allows that life to aspire to be morally good.^[4]

A Sign of Wisdom

Solomon’s knowledge of trees serves as part of the evidence that his wisdom is greater than that of all other humans:

^{מלכים א ה:יג} וַיְדַבֵּר עַל הָעֵצִים מִן הָאֶרֶז אֲשֶׁר בַּלְּבָנוֹן וְעַד הָאֵזוֹב אֲשֶׁר יֹצֵא בַּקִּיר וַיְדַבֵּר עַל הַבְּהֵמָה וְעַל הָעוֹף וְעַל הָרֶמֶשׂ וְעַל הַדָּגִים.

^{1 Kgs 5:13} And he spoke of trees from the cedar in Lebanon and the hyssop that grows out of the wall and he spoke of the beasts, of the birds, and of the creeping things and of the fish.

The second part of the verse alludes to species created in the first creation story (Gen 1), but it mentions trees first. The association of trees with wisdom is also expressed in the metaphor of wisdom, later associated with Torah, as a tree of life:

^{משׁלי ג:יח} עֵץ חַיִּים הִיא לַמַּחֲזִיקִים בָּהּ וְתֹמְכֶיהָ מְאֻשָּׁר.

^{Prov 3:18} She is a tree of life to those who grasp her, and whoever holds on to her is happy.[5]

The prophets use their knowledge of trees, gained from acute observation, to inspire or warn their listeners. They also impose human attributes, concerns, and emotions onto trees through metaphor and analogy.

The Branch of Jesse: Isaiah

Toward the end of the 8^th century B.C.E., when the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah lived under the threat of Assyria, an imperial power that had conquered the northern kingdom of Israel,^[6] Isaiah uses a tree to shape a hopeful message of leadership and renewal for the people Israel:

^{ישׁעיה יא:א} וְיָצָא חֹטֶר מִגֵּזַע יִשָׁי וְנֵצֶר מִשָּׁרָשָׁיו יִפְרֶה.

^{Isa 11:1} A branch shall grow out of the stump of Jesse [David’s father], a shoot from his roots shall bear fruit.

The stump here is parallel with the root, suggesting that one should not be misled as to the tree’s condition. The roots underneath are still very much alive, and therefore the shoots and the branch are capable of yet again maturing over time.

Not all trees regenerate themselves but a walk in the woods allows one to easily spot numerous trees in the stages of renewed growth. In one verse, the prophet portrays this cycle of a tree’s growth from a state of decline to regeneration, as the verse opens with the verb, “growing out of” and ends with a second verb, “bear fruit.” Isaiah thus leaves us with an image of continual and vigorous new growth.

Jesse’s descendants will bear fruit from his line and produce a new leader whose skills will surpass those of Jesse’s son King David and who will keep Jerusalem and its inhabitants safe from their enemy.

The Relief of Trees Parallels Humans

When Isaiah imagines the celebration and relief experienced by Israel if their enemy, the king of Babylon dies and descends to Sheol (14:4),^[7] he describes the trees rejoicing at the news that they will no longer be cut down to decorate the king’s palace:^[8]

^{ישׁעיה יד:ח} גַּם בְּרוֹשִׁים שָׂמְחוּ לְךָ אַרְזֵי לְבָנוֹן מֵאָז שָׁכַבְתָּ לֹא יַעֲלֶה הַכֹּרֵת עָלֵינוּ.

^{Isa 14:8} Even cypresses rejoice at your fate, cedars of Lebanon, “Now that you have lain down, none shall rise up to cut us down.”

The trees’ relief parallels that of the people Israel since they too will be free of the wicked king. Both cedar and cypress grow to great heights—more than one hundred feet—and great age—hundreds to thousands of years, and to ruthlessly destroy them adds an emotional twist to the senseless waste wrought by the dead king. That trees, like humans, no longer need to fear that destruction illustrates the poet’s fascinating capacity to empathize with non-human species.

Trees Mark Renewal and Celebration: Deutero-Isaiah

Deutero-Isaiah (Isa 40–66)^[9] was written in Babylon during the exile, roughly 150 years after the Isaiah who prophesied in Jerusalem during the First Temple period. Presenting YHWH as the arborist who plants a variety of trees in the wilderness, he sends the message that even in the most unfavorable of circumstances, YHWH will find a way to create new life and bring the exile to an end. The prophet reveals his knowledge in naming seven different kinds of trees:

‏^{ישׁעיה מא:יט} אֶתֵּן בַּמִּדְבָּר אֶרֶז שִׁטָּה וַהֲדַס וְעֵץ שָׁמֶן אָשִׂים בָּעֲרָבָה בְּרוֹשׁ תִּדְהָר וּתְאַשּׁוּר יַחְדָּו. ^מא:כ לְמַעַן יִרְאוּ וְיֵדְעוּ וְיָשִׂימוּ וְיַשְׂכִּילוּ יַחְדָּו כִּי יַד יְ־הוָה עָשְׂתָה זֹּאת וּקְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּרָאָהּ.

^{Isa 41:19} I will plant cedars in the wilderness, acacias and myrtles and wild olive trees; I will place cypresses in the desert, box trees and elms together—^41:20 So that they see and know, consider and comprehend together. For the hand of YHWH has done this, the Holy One of Israel has wrought it.^[10]

Both the cedar and cypress resist drought and are robust. Just as these are able to flourish in desert conditions so too will the people Israel thrive during their lengthy journey from Babylonia through the wilderness and arrival in the promised land. Including trees as part of his message reflects the prophet’s recognition of their necessity to human flourishing.

In a later passage, the natural world shares in the rejoicing of the returning exiles, as the trees “clap their hands” in joy, ascribing to them a human gesture. Notice the emotional valence of the passage:

‏^{ישׁעיה נה:יב} כִּי בְשִׂמְחָה תֵצֵאוּ וּבְשָׁלוֹם תּוּבָלוּן הֶהָרִים וְהַגְּבָעוֹת יִפְצְחוּ לִפְנֵיכֶם רִנָּה וְכָל עֲצֵי הַשָּׂדֶה יִמְחֲאוּ כָף.

^{Isa 55:12} For in joy you shall go and in peace be led. The mountains and hills shall burst forth before you in joy and all the trees of the field shall clap.

Joy and peace replace the thorns and nettles of the bitterness and discomfort of the years in exile in Babylon:

‏^{ישׁעיה נה:יג} תַּחַת הַנַּעֲצוּץ יַעֲלֶה בְרוֹשׁ תַּחַת [וְתַחַת] הַסִּרְפַּד יַעֲלֶה הֲדַס וְהָיָה לַי־הוָה לְשֵׁם לְאוֹת עוֹלָם לֹא יִכָּרֵת.

^{Isa 55:13} Instead of the thornbush shall rise up the cypress. And instead of the nettle shall rise up the myrtle. And it shall be a testimony for YHWH—an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

The cypress and myrtle, nestled in a lush natural world, greet the returnees,^[11] thus capturing opposing images of desolation and sustenance.

Trees Will Glorify the Rebuilt Temple

The cedar of Lebanon, cypress, pine and box-trees—the same trees that line the exiles’ journey home (41:19)—are given an honorable new role: glorification of YHWH’s house:

^{ישׁעיה ס:יג} כְּבוֹד הַלְּבָנוֹן אֵלַיִךְ יָבוֹא בְּרוֹשׁ תִּדְהָר וּתְאַשּׁוּר יַחְדָּו לְפָאֵר מְקוֹם מִקְדָּשִׁי וּמְקוֹם רַגְלַי אֲכַבֵּד.

^{Isa 60:13} The Kavod [honor or majesty] of Lebanon to you shall come, cypress and pine and box together, to adorn the place of My sanctuary, to glorify the place where my feet rest.

Returning to the Offshoot of Jesse

Finally, the Deutero-Isaiah echoes the image of the נֵ֧צֶר, “shoot,” in First Isaiah (11:1), as the shoot planted by YHWH reminds us of a tree’s ability to rejuvenate itself:^[12]

^{ישׁעיה ס:כא} וְעַמֵּךְ כֻּלָּם צַדִּיקִים לְעוֹלָם יִירְשׁוּ אָרֶץ נֵצֶר מַטָּעוֹ [מַטָּעַי] מַעֲשֵׂה יָדַי לְהִתְפָּאֵר.

^{Isa 60:21} And all your people are righteous. Forever they shall possess the land. The shoot that I plant, the work of my hand that I glory.

The symbol for the returnees’ continued life as YHWH’s people is now fulfilled.

Each of these examples exemplifies the prophets’ connection with the trees among which they live, highlighting their imaginative use of trees, and their desire for their audience to recognize a tree’s valuable presence in their surroundings as a symbol of God’s creativity.

Restoration and Warning: Ezekiel’s Cedars

Writing from exile in Babylonia, Ezekiel emphasizes the necessary punishment of the Israelites and the message that YHWH will take them back only after their sentence is completed. He represents that promised new chapter for the people by means of the magnificent cedar:^[13]

‏^{יחזקאל יז:כב} כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְ־הוִה וְלָקַחְתִּי אָנִי מִצַּמֶּרֶת הָאֶרֶז הָרָמָה וְנָתָתִּי מֵרֹאשׁ יֹנְקוֹתָיו רַךְ אֶקְטֹף וְשָׁתַלְתִּי אָנִי עַל הַר גָּבֹהַ וְתָלוּל.

^{Ezek 17:22} Thus said the Lord YHWH: Then I will take from the lofty top of the cedar, and from its topmost branches, a tender twig I will pluck, and I myself will plant it on a tall, towering mountain.

YHWH is again imagined as an arborist with the skill to cut and transplant the cedar, which represents the Israelites, who upon their return to the land will be restored to their status as the loftiest of YHWH’s creations.

‏^{יחזקאל יז:כג} בְּהַר מְרוֹם יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶשְׁתֳּלֶנּוּ וְנָשָׂא עָנָף וְעָשָׂה פֶרִי וְהָיָה לְאֶרֶז אַדִּיר וְשָׁכְנוּ תַחְתָּיו כֹּל צִפּוֹר כָּל כָּנָף בְּצֵל דָּלִיּוֹתָיו תִּשְׁכֹּנָּה.

^{Ezek 17:23} I will plant it in Israel’s lofty highlands, and it shall bring forth boughs and bear fruit, and grow into a noble cedar. And under it shall dwell every bird of every wing, in the shade of its boughs they shall dwell.

The poet emphasizes the shelter and shade offered by a cedar, perhaps just as the people, once back in their land, will have access to divine shelter.

Ezekiel presents Assyria as a cedar in a passage warning the Egyptian Pharoah that he may share the fate of the Assyrian king, whose empire was conquered in the late 7^th century B.C.E. The majestic height of the cedar is reinforced through a description of its crown in the clouds. We can almost tilt our eyes upward to see it:

‏^{יחזקאל לא:ג} הִנֵּה אַשּׁוּר אֶרֶז בַּלְּבָנוֹן יְפֵה עָנָף וְחֹרֶשׁ מֵצַל וּגְבַהּ קוֹמָה וּבֵין עֲבֹתִים הָיְתָה צַמַּרְתּוֹ.

^{Ezek 31:3} Behold Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, beautiful branches and shady thickets^[14] of lofty height, and its crown among the clouds.

The abundance of water is a sign of YHWH’s graciousness as well as a source of cleansing:

^{יחזקאל לא:ד} מַיִם גִּדְּלוּהוּ תְּהוֹם רֹמְמָתְהוּ אֶת נַהֲרֹתֶיהָ הֹלֵךְ סְבִיבוֹת מַטָּעָהּ וְאֶת תְּעָלֹתֶיהָ שִׁלְחָה אֶל כָּל עֲצֵי הַשָּׂדֶה.

^{Ezek 31:4} Water nourished it, Tehom made it tall, its rivers coursing around her planting. Her channels sent forth to the trees of the field.

The water allows the cedar to grow, its boughs to multiply and its branches to extend, surpassing all other trees:

^{יחזקאל לא:ה} עַל כֵּן גָּבְהָא קֹמָתוֹ מִכֹּל עֲצֵי הַשָּׂדֶה וַתִּרְבֶּינָה סַרְעַפֹּתָיו וַתֶּאֱרַכְנָה פֹארָתָו [פֹארֹתָיו] מִמַּיִם רַבִּים בְּשַׁלְּחוֹ.

^{Ezek 31:5} Therefore her height surpassed all the trees of the field, and its boughs multiplied and its branches grew long from the many waters sent out.

The harmonious mingling of birds nesting in its branches and beasts giving birth under the shelter of those branches reminds the reader to praise the tree:

^{יחזקאל לא:ו} בִּסְעַפֹּתָיו קִנְנוּ כָּל עוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וְתַחַת פֹּארֹתָיו יָלְדוּ כֹּל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה וּבְצִלּוֹ יֵשְׁבוּ כֹּל גּוֹיִם רַבִּים. ^לא:ז וַיְּיִף בְּגָדְלוֹ בְּאֹרֶךְ דָּלִיּוֹתָיו כִּי הָיָה שָׁרְשׁוֹ אֶל מַיִם רַבִּים.

^{Ezek 31:6} In its boughs nested all the birds of the sky, and under its branches all the beasts of the field gave birth. And in its shadow lived all the many nations. ^31:7 Beautiful in its height, in the length of its boughs. For its roots were in abundant waters.

Safety, beauty, flourishing of species, and pleasure abound. This gorgeous poem is an ode to the cedar as cedar as well as the waters that allow it to grow. In capturing the beauty and grandeur of the cedar, we may forget that it represents Israel’s enemy, whose death would be a cause of celebration. Instead, we marvel at the perfect harmony of the scene, which conveys a profound appreciation for the natural world.

A Warning

After glorifying the king of Assyria through the image of the cedar, however, Ezekiel then reminds his audience that the tree stands in for that king, its height becoming a depiction of the king’s arrogance, which leads to his downfall:

‏^{יחזקאל לא:י} לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְ־הוִה יַעַן אֲשֶׁר גָּבַהְתָּ בְּקוֹמָה וַיִּתֵּן צַמַּרְתּוֹ אֶל בֵּין עֲבוֹתִים וְרָם לְבָבוֹ בְּגָבְהוֹ. ^לא:יא וְאֶתְּנֵהוּ בְּיַד אֵיל גּוֹיִם עָשׂוֹ יַעֲשֶׂה לוֹ כְּרִשְׁעוֹ גֵּרַשְׁתִּהוּ.

^{Ezek 31:10} Assuredly, thus said the Lord YHWH: Because it towered high in stature, and thrust its top up among the leafy trees, and it was arrogant in its height, ^31:11 I delivered it into the hands of the mightiest of nations. They treated it as befitted its wickedness. I banished it.

The cedar is cut down, its branches abandoned. It dies. Thus is the fate of the Assyrian king.

^{יחזקאל לא:יב} וַיִּכְרְתֻהוּ זָרִים עָרִיצֵי גוֹיִם וַיִּטְּשֻׁהוּ אֶל הֶהָרִים וּבְכָל גֵּאָיוֹת נָפְלוּ דָלִיּוֹתָיו וַתִּשָּׁבַרְנָה פֹארֹתָיו בְּכֹל אֲפִיקֵי הָאָרֶץ וַיֵּרְדוּ מִצִּלּוֹ כָּל עַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ וַיִּטְּשֻׁהוּ.

^{Ezek 31:12} Strangers, the most ruthless of nations, cut it down and abandoned it; its branches fell on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs were splintered in every watercourse of the earth; and all the peoples of the earth departed from its shade and abandoned it.

Through this metaphor, the prophet conveys a dual message: The Israelites should be wary both of worshipping and adoring the cedar (and nature, in general) and of following foreign kings. Both can lead to idolatry, one of Ezekiel’s repeated concerns. Indeed, Israel owes its fealty to the arborist alone.

This ancient passage beautifully captures an ecosystem at work. Its stunning imagery depicts the interdependence of the tree with the ground, water, and the creatures who call the tree their home. The passage is a fine example of a keen observer, the prophet, making use of a tree and its attributes to convey a powerful rebuke against a foreign leader at the same time as he cannot help but offer an ode to the cedar.

Regeneration after Destruction: Job

Trees offer the prophets a trope that repeatedly bears fruit. Isaiah, Deutero-Isaiah and Ezekiel exhibit remarkable knowledge of trees, especially of their regenerative cycles, which they use to good effect in the various texts that warn or inspire their people to follow their God, a God who after all is the source of the great variety of trees mentioned in these texts.

Most importantly, trees convey hope to the human community. The book of Job says it best:

‏^{איוב יד:ז} כִּי יֵשׁ לָעֵץ תִּקְוָה אִם יִכָּרֵת וְעוֹד יַחֲלִיף וְיֹנַקְתּוֹ לֹא תֶחְדָּל. ^יד:ח אִם יַזְקִין בָּאָרֶץ שָׁרְשׁוֹ וּבֶעָפָר יָמוּת גִּזְעוֹ. ^יד:ט מֵרֵיחַ מַיִם יַפְרִחַ וְעָשָׂה קָצִיר כְּמוֹ נָטַע.

^{Job 14:7} There is hope for a tree; if it is cut down it will renew itself; its shoots will not cease. ^14:8 If its roots are old in the earth, and its stump dies in the ground ^14:9 at the scent of water it will bud and produce branches like a sapling.

That is a message equally important for the prophetic audience and for us. After all, trees are exceedingly important in responding to today’s climate crisis, capturing significant amounts of carbon and keeping it safely in the ground. They require our appreciative attention and care, however, to continue to do so.