H3839 H3839
poplar (or styrax), a tree with white features
A tree species identified as either poplar or styrax, apparently named for its white characteristics—white bark, white gum, or white blossoms. In Genesis 30:37, Jacob peels rods of poplar (among other trees) as part of his livestock breeding scheme. In Hosea 4:13, the tree provides shade for idolatrous worship, grouped with oak and terebinth as prominent cultic sites. The 'whiteness' may explain the name, connecting it to the root for white.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Refers to a specific tree species, likely either white poplar or styrax (a tree that exudes a white, milky resin). Modern identifications suggest styrax officinalis based on Arabic cognates and botanical evidence. The tree serves both practical purposes (Jacob's rods) and cultic ones (shade for illicit worship). Cross-linguistic glosses vary—Spanish 'álamo' (poplar), German 'Storaxbaum' (styrax tree)—reflecting ongoing botanical debate, but all agree it's a tree with notable white features. 2×
AR["حَوْرٍ", "وَالحَورِ"]·ben["এবং-পপলারের", "পপলার-গাছের"]·DE["[ולבנה]", "von-Storaxbaum"]·EN["and-poplar", "poplar"]·FR["et-pour-il-a-bâti", "poplar"]·heb["ו-לבנה", "לבנה"]·HI["और-चिनार", "सफ़ेदा"]·ID["dan-pohon-hawar", "pohon hawar"]·IT["[ולבנה]", "poplar"]·jav["lan-wit-élèm", "pohon-putih"]·KO["그리고-버드나무", "버드나무의"]·PT["e-álamo", "álamo"]·RU["и-тополем", "тополя"]·ES["y-álamo", "álamo"]·SW["na-mti-mweupe", "za-mlibna"]·TR["kavak", "ve-kavağın"]·urd["اور-چنار", "چنار-کی"]
Related Senses
H3754 1. vineyard, cultivated grape plot (92×)H0730 1. cedar tree or wood (73×)H1612 1. vine, grapevine (55×)H3293a 1. forest, wood, thicket (55×)H5560 1. fine flour (53×)H5193 1. plant vegetation (48×)H2232 1. sow seed, plant crops (41×)H1715 1. grain, cereal crop (40×)H7114b 1. reap, harvest grain (36×)H2132 1. olive tree (34×)H8184 1. barley (34×)H2406 1. wheat (grain crop) (30×)H7070 1. reed, cane (plant) (30×)H7848 1. acacia (28×)H8328 1. root of a plant (28×)H8384 1. fig tree (25×)H5488 1. reeds, rushes (in 'Sea of Reeds') (24×)G0290 1. a vineyard (23×)G2325 1. reap, harvest a crop (21×)G4687 1. sow seed, plant (21×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† לִבְנֶה n.[m.] poplar (appar. = Arabic لُبْنَى named from exuding milky (white) gum De Ges al.; Ethiopic ልብን styrax officinalis; but 𝔊 λεύκη, cf. 𝔖 and Löw No. 107);—Gn 30:37 מַקַּל ל׳ לַח וְלוּז וְעַרְמוֹן; as marking places of idolatrous incense-burning תַּחַת אַלּוֹן וְלִבְנֶה וְאֵלָה Ho 4:13.