Cedar

A tall, majestic tree, native to Lebanon. In OT times it was highly prized for its wood, which was used extensively in the construction of Solomon's temple.

Cedar trees associated with Lebanon

1 Kings 4:33 See also Judges 9:15; 2 Kings 14:9 parallel 2 Chronicles 25:18; 2 Kings 19:23 parallel Isaiah 37:24; Psalm 29:5, Psalm 92:12, Psalm 104:16; Song of Solomon 5:15; Isaiah 14:8; Jeremiah 22:23; Ezekiel 27:5; Hosea 14:5–6; Zechariah 11:1–2

He spoke of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing in the wall, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.

The cedar as a tall, majestic tree

Ezekiel 31:3 See also Job 40:17; Psalm 80:10; Isaiah 2:12–13; Ezekiel 17:22–23, Ezekiel 31:7–8; Amos 2:9

Look at Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches that shaded the forest. It towered on high; its top was among the clouds.

Cedar trees indicating a fertile, well-watered land

Numbers 24:5–6 See also Psalm 92:12–15; Isaiah 41:17–20

How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel! They spread out like palm groves, like gardens beside a stream, like aloes the LORD has planted, like cedars beside the waters.

Cedar used allegorically

Ezekiel 17:1–4 prophecy of a Davidic king being taken into captivity; Ezekiel 17:22–23 prophecy of the Messiah coming from David's family

Cedar as a costly and valued wood

1 Kings 10:27 parallels 2 Chronicles 1:15, 2 Chronicles 9:27 See also Song of Solomon 8:8–9; Isaiah 9:8–10

The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as abundant as sycamore in the foothills.

Cedar wood used in ritual purification

Leviticus 14:48–53 See also Leviticus 14:1–7; Numbers 19:1–6

If, however, the priest comes and inspects it, and the mildew has not spread after the house has been replastered, he shall pronounce the house clean, because the mildew is gone. He is to take two birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop to purify the house; and he shall slaughter one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot. Then he shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn, and the live bird, dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. And he shall cleanse the house with the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet yarn. Finally, he is to release the live bird into the open fields outside the city. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.

Cedar wood imported from the north

They gave money to the masons and carpenters, and food and drink and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to Joppa by sea, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.

Cedar wood used in the construction of buildings

Royal palaces and great houses

1 Kings 7:2–3 See also 2 Samuel 5:11, 2 Samuel 7:2; 1 Kings 7:7, 1 Kings 7:11–12; Song of Solomon 1:17; Jeremiah 22:11–15

He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high, with four rows of cedar pillars supporting the cedar beams. The house was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the pillars — forty-five beams, fifteen per row.

The temple

1 Kings 6:18 See also 2 Samuel 7:7; 1 Kings 6:9–10, 1 Kings 6:20, 1 Kings 6:36, 1 Kings 7:12

The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen.