אֵלוֹן
e.lon
(Diviners') Oak
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Analytical Synthesis of H6049G (אֵלוֹן) The Hebrew word *e.lon* refers to a specific type of oak tree associated with divination practices. The designation "(Diviners') Oak" suggests this particular tree held significance in ancient Israelite contexts related to fortune-telling or prophetic inquiry—practices that appear to have been culturally recognized enough to warrant a specialized term linking a botanical specimen to a religious function. The word's single biblical occurrence limits what can be determined about its range of usage or theological importance. However, the nomenclature itself—explicitly identifying the tree by its connection to divination—indicates that in the Hebrew lexicon, this oak variety carried a specialized, culturally loaded meaning beyond a simple botanical classification. This suggests the term was precise enough to distinguish this tree from other oaks in the Hebrew-speaking world, presumably because of its actual or legendary association with divinatory activities or sacred practices. Without additional occurrences or contextual data, the full scope of how this term functioned in biblical or post-biblical Hebrew discourse remains largely circumscribed. The lexical evidence preserves only that such a term existed and was used at least once in the biblical text, marking it as part of the Hebrew religious and natural vocabulary.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence across the text