Bible Dictionary

Shittah Tree, Shittim

Agriculture & Daily Life • Old Testament

The shittah tree, or shittim, was an acacia or related desert tree. Its durable wood was used extensively for the tabernacle and its furnishings.

Definition

The shittah tree, or shittim in its usual plural form, is identified with an acacia, probably including Acacia seyal. It is a thorny tree with hard, close-grained wood suited to construction and cabinet work. Several kinds of acacia occur in the Bible lands, and the tree is especially common in parts of the Sinai peninsula.

Biblical Usage

Shittah wood was extensively used in constructing the tabernacle and its furnishings, including objects described in Exodus 25–26 and 36–38. The plural shittim may reflect the tangled thickets into which the tree’s stem expands.

Historical Background

The acacia yields gum arabic through incisions in its bark, although the supplied material does not establish that ancient Jews used it. The biblical tree should not be confused with the North American plant popularly called black locust in England.

Scripture References

Exodus 25:0-0;

Historical Bible Dictionaries

Smith's Bible Dictionary

(Heb. shittah, the thorny), is without doubt correctly referred to some species of Acacia, of which three or four kinds occur in the Bible lands. The woof of this tree—perhaps the Acacia seyal is more definitely signified—was extensively employed in the construction of the tabernacle. See Exod 25,26,36,37,38. (This tree is sometimes three or four feet in diameter (Tristram). The wood is close-grained and hard, of a fine orange-brown color, and admirably adapted to cabinet work.—ED.) The A. seyal is very common in some parts of the peninsula of Sinai. It yields the well-known substance called gum arabic, which is obtained by incisions in the bark, but it is impossible to say whether the ancient Jews were acquainted with its use. From the tangled thicket into which the stem of this tree expands, Stanley well remarks that hence is to be traced the use of the plural form of the Heb. noun shittim, the singular number occurring once only in the Bible. This acacia must not be confounded with the tree (Robinia pseudo-acacia) popularly known by this name in England, which is a North American plant, and belongs to a different genus and suborder. The true acacias belong to the order Leguminosae, sub-order Mimoseae .

Back to Dictionary Search