Female cones of the cedar of Lebanon. Chouf Cedar Preserve, Lebanon.
TREES ARE PROMINENT IN BOTH the Quran and the Bible. Arboreal references in these holy books reflect the place of trees in cultures of millennia ago: their uses, the local species of importance, and moreover their inspirational and symbolic significance, based on the perception of the tree as a symbol of life given by the Creator (Musselman 2003a).
People have always worshipped trees. Early tree worship in premonotheistic religions is recorded in numerous Greek and Sumerian classics. The ancient Greeks regarded trees as the first temples of the gods and sacred groves as their first places of worship (Baumann 1993). Groves of trees, often dark and mysterious, were thought of as haunts of spirits. The pagan use of trees and groves for worship is mentioned in the Bible: “places on the high mountains and on the hills and under every spreading tree where the nations … worship their gods” (Deuteronomy 12:2, NIV).
Both the Bible and the Quran refer to the utility of trees for food, animal feed, oil, fuel (including charcoal), and construction. In the Quran, at least two verses record fuelwood as a divine provision, a vital consideration in a desert culture: “Say: ‘He who created you the first time. He has knowledge of every creation, who gave you fire from a green tree, with which you ignite the flame’” (Sura 36:79–80, Ali); and, “Observe the fire which you light. Is it you that creates wood, or We? A reminder for man We made it, and for the traveler a comfort” (Sura 56:71–73, Dawood).
Lebanese geranium, Geranium libanoticum, carpets the floor of this preserved cedar grove on Mount Lebanon in May. Known as the Chouf Cedar Preserve, this stand of cedar is the largest and most intact of any in Lebanon; it is located at the extreme southern limit of the cedar’s range.
Peony, Paeonia mascula, in May, in the Slenfeh Cedar Preserve near Slenfeh, Syria.
Trees are still venerated today in many countries of the world, including Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. Among Druze and Muslim Arabs, certain individual trees are considered holy. These trees are often near the tombs of holy men or women, where visitors come to make requests. The pilgrims pledge to do good if the requests are fulfilled, and tie cloth, cloth strips, or rags on the trees as a solemn promise for their vows (Dafni 2003).
The largest and most majestic tree in the Middle East is the cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani). Not only is the tree impressive, perhaps one of the largest living things a person might see in a lifetime, but the tree’s habitat is likewise spectacular—steep mountain fastnesses that, in spring, are carpeted with wildflowers such as Geranium libanoticum, Rubia tinctorium, and Paeonia mascula. Remote and green at high elevations on the Lebanon Range, both the tree and its environs have been venerated through the ages. Cedar groves are wondrously mysterious in the early spring when life-giving fog enshrouds the mountains.
Like its relative, the pine, two kinds of branching are found on cedar, known botanically as dimorphic branching, with short stems (shoots) and long stems (shoots). The leaves, or needles, are clustered in groups of varying number. Each group of needles is actually a modified stem, called a short shoot. The short shoots are borne on the long shoots, or branches.
Two types of cones are also produced, male and female. The male cone is a few inches (5 centimeters) long, worm-like, and falls from the tree after pollen is shed. The female cone is about the size of a lemon and is egg shaped. Like all true cedars (species in the genus Cedrus), the cone is erect when mature, not pendant like the cones of pines. Two years or even longer are required for cone maturation. At maturity, the scales of the cone break apart, releasing seeds.
Seeds are carried on the winged scales, which are like gliders, a feature that ensures wide distribution. Seeds are not viable for long and must germinate in cool temperatures. At these high elevations and low temperatures, growth is slow. Centuries must pass to produce the majestic trees that are now so rare.
An old cedar of Lebanon is noble in bearing. No wonder it is used in the Bible as an image of a mighty king—regal, strong, tenacious: “Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness? Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs” (Ezekiel 31:2–3, KJV); and as a descriptor for the Amorites: “But as my people watched, I destroyed the Amorites, though they were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks” (Amos 2:9a, NLT). Cedar is also likened to an upright man: “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God” (Psalm 92:12–13, KJV).
Noble as a timber as well, cedar wood is resistant to decay, is fragrant, has a beautiful grain, and is easily worked. Apparently the tree could not be harvested without a royal decree. This was true for the building of Solomon’s temple as well as the rebuilding of the temple in the days of Ezra.
The first construction use for cedar cited in the Bible was for kings’ palaces (II Samuel 7:2). The most famous building of cedar, though not the largest, was the temple built by Solomon. In addition, Solomon built a magnificent house for himself entirely out of cedar (I Kings 7:1–2); so grand was this building that it took 13 years to complete, six more years than the temple. Earlier, his father had built a house out of cedar: “Look,” David said, “I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of God is out there in a tent!” (II Samuel 7:2, NLT). The wealth of Solomon’s reign, expressed in the hyperbole that runs throughout Semitic oral tradition, was indicated by cedar of Lebanon’s being a common building material (I Kings 10:27). Other references associate the use of cedar with fleeting opulence. Like a Mercedes in the driveway, cedar was a status symbol during Solomon’s reign.
The use of cedar in many different public buildings through the Middle East is well documented. For example, some of the beams in the roof of the al-Aqsa Mosque are cedar of Lebanon, mostly removed from other public buildings and therefore of great age (Lev-Yadun 1992).
A lesser-known use of cedar was in oblations for purification. One example is the cleansing for leprosy: “He will order the following to be brought for his purification: two live birds that are clean, some cedar wood, scarlet material and hyssop” (Leviticus 14:4, NJB). Details are not given, but it seems likely that small pieces of cedar were used for their fragrance. However, there is some confusion over whether this material or the oil derived from it came from cedar or from a species of juniper (Juniperus) (Meiggs 1982).
Timber, uprightness, purification, fragrance: to these aspects of cedar we must add a final quality, that of the most majestic plant. Solomon, the greatest botanist in the Bible, spoke about plants, suggesting that the cedar was the greatest: “He described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls” (I Kings 4:33a, NIV).
While the fame and planting of cedar of Lebanon has expanded around the globe, its natural habitat has shrunk. It is estimated that less than 3 percent of the original cedar of Lebanon forests are preserved on the mountain that gave the fabled gymnosperm its name. While most of the trees have been cut in Lebanon, there are still extensive forests of Cedrus libani in Turkey.
Perhaps because it is widely planted or maybe because it is such a definite, well-recognized symbol (Bikai 1991), the lore of cedar of Lebanon rapidly spread to the New World with European settlers. When these immigrants came to North America, in a day when Bible literacy was the norm, they called many different trees cedars, whether they were true cedars or even in the same family. For example, the widespread “red cedar” of eastern North America, Juniperus virginiana, is evergreen like cedar. And it does have a pleasant, enduring fragrance. But the cone has a fleshy, berry-like structure (known as juniper berry, one of the flavorings in gin), unlike the large spindle-shaped cone of cedar of Lebanon. And the tree is in a different family of gymnosperms. Nor is the name restricted to trees; many herbaceous plants have “cedar” as part of their name.
The transposing of plant names from the scriptures to local plants unknown in the countries where the books were written is not limited to the Bible. One well-documented example is the Mouride sect of Islam in Senegal. The founder had a vision under a giant Sterculia setigera tree. Adherents call it touba [tuba], the cosmic tree that, according to some Muslim traditions in West Africa, transcends heavenly and earthly spheres (Ross 1995). The Beja people of northeastern Sudan told me that Euphorbia abyssinica was zaqqum of the Quran, probably due to the caustic latex of the tree. I am sure that many other examples using both Bible and Quran plants could be cited.