Oak

The oak was one of the most prominent trees of ancient Palestine and appears frequently in the biblical narrative as a landmark, a place of burial, and a site of sacred significance. Several Hebrew words are rendered oak in English translations — allon, elon, and elah — reflecting the multiple species of oak that grow in the region, including the Valonia oak (Quercus aegilops) and the Palestine oak (Quercus infectoria). The great oaks of Bashan were proverbial for their strength (Isaiah 2:13; Ezekiel 27:6).

Oaks served as landmarks and burial sites: Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, was buried under an oak at Bethel (Genesis 35:8), and Absalom's hair caught in an oak during the battle in the forest of Ephraim, where Joab killed him (2 Samuel 18:9–10). Isaiah uses the oak as a symbol of idolatrous practice — Israel cutting oaks for idol-making while God's holy seed endures as the stump after the tree is cut down (Isaiah 6:13; 57:5).