אֵלוֹן
e.lon
terebinth
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Hebrew word אֵלוֹן (e.lon) corresponds to the Strong's number H0436 and is found eight times in the Bible. Its short definition is "terebinth", a type of tree. This suggests that the word likely refers to a specific variety of tree that is native to the region in which the Bible was written. In terms of usage, it is difficult to establish a specific range of meaning or significance given the limited data provided. However, the definition as a type of tree implies that the word could be used to describe a physical location, landscape feature, or other elements in the natural environment. Further investigation into the specific biblical contexts where this word appears may provide more insight into its significance and usage. Given its definition and limited occurrences, it is likely that the word אֵלוֹן (e.lon) held local or regional significance in the culture and geography of ancient Israel, and its meaning may be more nuanced or specific within those contexts.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
8 total occurrences across the text
Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time, Canaanites were in the land.
Genesis 13:18Abram moved his tent, and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to Yahweh.
Genesis 14:13One who had escaped came and told Abram, the Hebrew. At that time, he lived by the oaks of Mamre, the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner. They were allies of Abram.
Genesis 18:1Yahweh appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day.
Deuteronomy 11:30Aren’t they beyond the Jordan, behind the way of the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the Arabah near Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh?
Judges 9:6All the men of Shechem assembled themselves together with all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king by the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem.
Judges 4:11Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, even from the children of Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law, and had pitched his tent as far as the oak in Zaanannim, which is by Kedesh.
1 Samuel 10:3“Then you will go on forward from there, and you will come to the oak of Tabor. Three men will meet you there going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three young goats, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a container of wine.