Fir: The uniform rendering in the Authorized Version (marg. R.V.,
"cypress") of berosh
(2 Samuel 6:5; 1 Kings 5:8,10; 6:15,34; 9:11) etc., a lofty
tree
(Isaiah 55:13) growing on Lebanon
(Isaiah 37:24). Its wood was used in
making musical instruments and doors of houses, and for ceilings
(2 Chronicles 3:5) the decks of ships
(Ezekiel 27:5) floorings and spear-shafts
(Nahum 2:3) R.V. The true fir (abies) is not found in Palestine, but the
pine tree, of which there are four species, is common. The precise
kind of tree meant by the "green fir tree"
(Hosea 14:8) is uncertain.
Some regard it as the sherbin tree, a cypress resembling the cedar;
others, the Aleppo or maritime pine (Pinus halepensis), which
resembles the Scotch fir; while others think that the "stone-pine"
(Pinus pinea) is probably meant.
