Bible Dictionary
Shittah-tree
The shittah-tree was an acacia tree native to the wilderness. Its wood was used to construct parts of the tabernacle.
Definition
The shittah-tree is the acacia or mimosa tree, identified with forms such as Acacia nilotica and Acacia seyal. It was a wilderness tree, suited to the desert region through which Israel traveled, and its wood was durable enough for substantial construction.
Biblical Usage
Shittah wood was used for the various parts of the tabernacle in the wilderness, including its boards and furnishings. Isaiah refers to the tree, while Exodus specifies its use in tabernacle construction.
Historical Background
The wild acacia, called sunt, and the related seyal were common in the wilderness. The Revised Version renders shittah-tree in Isaiah 41:19 as “acacia tree.”
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Isa. 41:19; R.V., “acacia tree”). Shittah wood was employed in making the various parts of the tabernacle in the wilderness, and must therefore have been indigenous in the desert in which the Israelites wandered. It was the acacia or mimosa (Acacia Nilotica and A. seyal). “The wild acacia (Mimosa Nilotica), under the name of sunt, everywhere represents the seneh, or senna, of the burning bush. A slightly different form of the tree, equally common under the name of seyal, is the ancient ’shittah,’ or, as more usually expressed in the plural form, the ’shittim,’ of which the tabernacle was made.” Stanley’s Sinai, etc. (Ex. 25:10, 13, 23, 28).