Heath

Heath translates the Hebrew 'arar in Jeremiah 17:6 and 48:6, where it denotes a stunted, desolate desert shrub — likely the juniper known in Arabic as 'arâr (Juniperus phoenicea) or possibly the tamarisk or another low desert plant. Jeremiah 17:6 uses it as an image of spiritual desolation: "He shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh." The heath growing in parched desert conditions — unable to benefit from rain when it falls because it is planted in salt land — pictures the person who trusts in man rather than God, whose inner spiritual life remains barren even when providential circumstances improve. The parallel verse (Jeremiah 17:8) contrasts this with the person who trusts in the LORD, described as a tree planted by the water.