Forest

Forests in ancient Canaan were far more extensive than the largely deforested landscape visible today. The Hebrew ya'ar (dense wood, from the luxuriance of its growth) describes the great primeval forests that covered the highland regions and much of the Galilee and Carmel range. Notable biblical forests include the forest of Lebanon — famous for its cedars, which supplied timber for Solomon's temple and palace — the forest of Ephraim east of the Jordan (2 Samuel 18:6–8, where Absalom died entangled in an oak), and the forests of the southern hill country of Judah.

Forests in the prophetic literature function as symbols of national pride and self-sufficiency that God will cut down in judgment: Isaiah 10:18–19 describes the Assyrian army as trees of a forest felled by a divine ax, and Isaiah 44:14 satirizes the idol-maker who cuts a cedar from the forest — using half for fuel and carving the remainder into a god. The image of the forest growing over devastated cities (Micah 3:12; Jeremiah 26:18) became a symbol of divine judgment on disobedient Jerusalem. Ecclesiastes 2:6 mentions Solomon's planting of forests as part of his great building projects.