Dictionaries :: Acacia

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Acacia:

(Heb. shittim) Exd 25:5, R.V. probably the Acacia seyal (the gum-arabic tree); called the "shittah" tree (Isa 41:19). Its wood is called shittim wood (Exd 26:15; Exd 26:26; Exd 25:10; Exd 25:13; Exd 25:23; Exd 25:28, etc.). This species (A. seyal) is like the hawthorn, a gnarled and thorny tree. It yields the gum-arabic of commerce. It is found in abundance in the Sinaitic peninsula.

International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia

Acacia:

a-ka'-sha (shiTTah, the shittah tree of the King James Version, Isa 41:19, and 'atse-shiTTah, acacia wood; shittah wood the King James Version, Ex 25:5,10,13; 26:15,26; 27:1,6; De 10:3.): ShiTTah (= shinTah) is equivalent to the Arabic sant which is now the name of the Acacia Nilotica (NO, Leguminosae), but no doubt the name once included other species of desert acacias. If one particular species is indicated in the Old Testament it is probably the Acacia Seyal-the Arabic Seyyal-which yields the well-known gum-arabic. This tree, which has finely bipinnate leaves and globular flowers, grows to a height of twenty feet or more, and its stem may sometimes reach two feet in thickness. The tree often assumes a characteristic umbrella-like form. The wood is close-grained and is not readily attacked by insects. It would be well suited for such purposes as described, the construction of the ark of the covenant, the altar and boarding of the tabernacle. Even today these trees survive in considerable numbers around 'Ain Jidy and in the valleys to the south.

Written by E. W. G. Masterman