Fir

Fir (Hebrew berosh) is the uniform rendering of the Authorized Version for a tall, stately evergreen tree that featured prominently in Phoenician trade and Israelite construction. The Revised Version and modern scholarship tend to identify berosh with the cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) rather than the fir, though some passages may refer to other conifers. Lebanon's forests of cedar and berosh were among the most valuable timber resources of the ancient world.

King Hiram of Tyre supplied both cedar and fir/cypress timber to Solomon for the construction of the temple (1 Kings 5:8, 10) and the royal palace. The wood was used for the temple floors, doors, and panels (1 Kings 6:15, 34; 9:11). Its height and stature made the fir a symbol of Assyrian power in Ezekiel 31 and of eschatological restoration in Isaiah 41:19 and 55:13. The instrument on which David played before the ark was made of fir/cypress wood (2 Samuel 6:5), suggesting fine craftsmanship.