Juniper: (Heb. rothem), called by the Arabs retem, and known as Spanish broom;
ranked under the genus genista. It is a desert shrub, and abounds in
many parts of Palestine. In the account of his journey from Akabah to
Jerusalem, Dr. Robinson says: "This is the largest and most
conspicuous shrub of these deserts, growing thickly in the
water-courses and valleys. Our Arabs always selected the place of
encampment, if possible, in a spot where it grew, in order to be
sheltered by it at night from the wind; and during the day, when they
often went on in advance of the camels, we found them not
unfrequently sitting or sleeping under a bush of retem to shelter
them from the sun. It was in this very desert, a day's journey from
Beersheba, that the prophet Elijah lay down and slept beneath the
same shrub"
(1 Kings 19:4,5) It afforded material for fuel, and also in
cases of extremity for human food
(Psalms 120:4; Job 30:4) One of the
encampments in the wilderness of Paran is called Rithmah, i.e.,
"place of broom"
(Numbers 33:18) "The Bedawin of Sinai still burn this very
plant into a charcoal which throws out the most intense heat."
