Acacia

Acacia (Hebrew shittah, plural shittim) refers most probably to Acacia seyal, the gum-arabic tree, a thorny, gnarled species resembling the hawthorn, capable of reaching a height of twenty feet. Its wood—dense, close-grained, and resistant to decay and insects—was the material of choice for the principal furnishings of the tabernacle: the ark of the covenant, the table of showbread, the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering, as well as the upright boards of the structure itself (Exodus 25–27; 36–38).

The tree is also called the shittah tree in Isaiah 41:19, where it appears among trees God promises to plant in the wilderness as a sign of restoration. Its association with the tabernacle gave the wood a place of singular importance in Israel's sacred architecture.