Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

POPLAR

Two types of poplar were widespread in biblical lands. The white poplar (Populus alba; Heb. liḇneh) is so named for its bark and the white underside of its leaves. This fast-growing tree thrives in damp soil such as riverbanks where it can reach a height of 30 m. (100 ft.). The soft wood could be used for tools or roof beams. The grayish-white bark contains salicin, which reduces fevers or inflammation of the joints. Jacob placed stripped branches of white poplar, almond, and plane in the drinking troughs of Laban’s goats to obtain the desired offspring (Gen. 30:37). The white poplar is one of the shade trees on the mountains where Israel practiced their idolatry (Hos. 4:13). Cuttings from this tree root easily (cf. Hos. 14:5[MT 6]).

Another tall poplar, the Euphrates poplar (Populus euphratica; Heb. ʿărāḇâ), grows well in the salty soil near the Jordan and brackish desert springs. It was probably among the trees Elisha’s prophets cut near the Jordan (2 Kgs. 6:4). Its immature leaves look like willow leaves, so the tree is sometimes confused with the willow. The “poplars by the stream” were large enough to conceal the behemoth (Job 40:22 NIV; cf. Isa. 44:4). It was among the four branches used in the lulab ceremony in the Festival of Booths (Lev. 23:40), and is probably the tree upon which the exiles hung their harps in Babylon (Ps. 137:2).

Bibliography. F. N. Hepper, Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Plants (Grand Rapids, 1992); M. Zohary, Plants of the Bible (Cambridge, 1982).

Laurie J. Braaten

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

POPLAR

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)