Poplar
“Whiteness”
Summary
The poplar is a tree mentioned in Scripture, though the Hebrew word may alternatively refer to the storax tree, both of which are common in Palestine.
☩Biblical References
The Hebrew word libneh occurs only twice in the Old Testament. Jacob used peeled rods of poplar (or storax) along with almond and plane tree when breeding Laban's sheep. Hosea mentions it with oaks and terebinths as trees under which idolatrous Israel burned incense because their shade was desirable.
☩Identification
The Hebrew libneh, meaning 'whiteness,' may refer to the white poplar (Populus alba), named for the whiteness of the undersurface of its leaves. However, the similarity to Arabic lubna suggests it may be the storax tree (Styrax officinalis), which has oval leaves white underneath and beautiful pure-white flowers resembling orange blossoms. The storax is a very common shrub in Palestine, occasionally reaching twenty feet in height. Both the white poplar and the storax grow throughout Palestine.
See Also
References
- 1.George Morrish, "Poplar," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Poplar," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. IV (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Poplar," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 4.John McClintock and James Strong, "Poplar," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. VIII (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).