Date palm, תָּמָר, Phoenix dactylifera

The common noun תָּמָר (tāmār) occurs four times in the Hebrew Bible in the singular (Joel 1:12; Ps 92:13; Song 7:8, 9) and on four further occasions in the plural תְּמָרִים); təmārîm) (Exod 15:27 ≈ Num 33:9; Lev 23:40 ≈ Neh 8:15). While the singular of botanical terms frequently designates the living plant and the plural its usable product, in the present case both forms appear to denote the living plant (cf. most strikingly Neh 8:15).

This noun also serves as an element in four geographic names: תָּמָר (tāmār) (1 Kgs 9:18;[1] Ezek 47:19 ≈ 48:28); עִיר הַתְּמָרִים (ˁîr hattəmārîm “the city of təmārîm,” Deut 34:3; Judg 1:16; 3:13; 2 Chr 28:15)—explicitly identified with Jericho (Deut 34:3; 2 Chr 28:15); חַצְצֹן תָּמָר (ḥaṣəṣōn tāmār, Gen 14:17; 2 Chr 20:2)—explicitly identified with עֵין גֶּדִי (2 Chr 20:2); and בַּעַל תָּמָר (baˁal tāmār, Judg 20:33). The singular also serves as the personal name of three female characters: Judah’s daughter-in-law (Gen 38:6, 11 [x 2], 13, 24; Ruth 4:12; 1 Chr 2:4), Absalom’s sister (2 Sam 13:1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 [x 2], 19, 20, 22, 32; 1 Chr 3:9), and Absalom’s daughter (2 Sam 14:27).

The singular form תֹּמֶר (tōmer) occurs twice (Judg 4:5;[2] Jer 10:5[3]).[4]

The possibly derivative common noun תִּמֹרָה (timōrâ) occurs 19 times (1 Kgs 6:29, 32 [x 2], 35; 7:36; Ezek 40:16, 22, 26, 31, 34, 37; 41:18 [x 2], 19 [x 2], 20, 25, 26; 2 Chr 3:5).

The tree is mentioned eight times in the Bible in the form תָּמָר / תְּמָרִים:

• Thrice in narrative (Exod 15:27; Num 33:9; Neh 8:15)
• Twice in love poetry (Song 7:8, 9)
• Once in legal material (Lev 23:40)
• Once in prophecy (Joel 1:12)
• Once in psalmody (Ps 92:13)

Toponyms that include the form as an element occur ten times:

• Eight in narrative (Gen 14:7; Deut 34:3; Judg 1:16; 3:13; 20:33; 1 Kgs 9:18; 2 Chr 20:2; 28:15)
• Two in prophecy (Ezek 47:19; 48:28)

The form תֹּמֶר occurs twice in the Bible:

• Once in narrative (Judg 4:5)
• Once in prophecy (Jer 10:5)

The word תִּמֹרָה occurs 19 times, all within a temple context:

• Six times in narrative descriptions of Solomon’s temple (1 Kgs 6:29, 32 [x 2], 35; 7:36; 2 Chr 3:5)
• 13 times in Ezekiel’s vision of the rebuilt temple (Ezek 40:16, 22, 26, 31, 34, 37; 41:18 [x 2], 19 [x 2], 20, 25, 26)

Leaves.  כַּפֹּת (Lev 23:40)—literally “palms” (BDB, s.v.כַּף  4d). These are presumably the leaves (see Neh 8:15), whose collective resemblance to the palm of a hand gave the name “palm” to this kind of tree in Latin and English.

Withering, due to locusts (Joel 1:12).

Blossoming or flourishing (Ps 92:13).

Height (Song 7:8), potential to be climbed (Song 7:9).

Fruit clusters (Song 7:8).

סַנְסִנִּים—graspable (Song 7:9), understood as the crown (Septuagint), leaves (Peshitta; Symmachus; Targum to Songicles), spathes (Aquila), fruits (Vulgate), spadices (Löw 1881) / fruit stalks (BDB) / panicles (HALOT), fruit clusters (Viezel 2014), or leaf bases (Eichler 2020).

The realistic references relate to its growth in the wilderness between Egypt and the Land of Israel (Exod 15:27; Num 33:9), the use of the כַּפֹּת for the Festival of Booths (Lev 23:40), the use of the leaves in the Land of Israel to construct the booths (Neh 8:15), and its withering following a locust attack (Joel 1:12).

תֹּמֶר: its growth in the Ephraimite hill-country in the Land of Israel (Judg 4:5).

תִּמֹרָה: as decoration in sacred places (1 Kgs 6:29, 32 [x 2], 35; 7:36; Ezek 40:16, 22, 26, 31, 34, 37; 41:18 [x 2], 19 [x 2], 20, 25, 26; 2 Chr 3:5).

Simile: the flourishing or blossoming of a righteous person (Ps 92:13), a woman’s height and perhaps erect posture, her breasts resembling its fruit clusters (Song 7:8).

תֹּמֶר: idols (Jer 10:5).[5]

Metaphor: climbing it and grasping its סַנְסִנִּים symbolize an erotic act of a man with a woman (Song 7:9).

It is collocated with springs of water, presumably to indicate habitability (Exod 15:27; Num 33:9).

It appears in lists of plant products used for celebrating the Festival of Booths:‏פְּרִי עֵץ הָדָר כַּפֹּת תְּמָרִים וַעֲנַף עֵץ־עָבֹת וְעַרְבֵי־נָחַל (“the product of hadar trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook,” Lev 23:40) and in the booth construction itself:‏עֲלֵי־זַיִת וַעֲלֵי־עֵץ שֶׁמֶן וַעֲלֵי הֲדַס וַעֲלֵי תְמָרִים וַעֲלֵי עֵץ עָבֹת (“leafy branches of olive trees, pine trees, myrtles, palms and [other] leafy trees,” Neh 8:15).

It forms part of a list of fruit trees destroyed by locusts: ‏הַגֶּפֶן … וְהַתְּאֵנָה … רִמּוֹן גַּם־תָּמָר וְתַפּוּחַ כָּל־עֲצֵי הַשָּׂדֶה (“The vine has dried up, the fig tree withers, pomegranate, palm, and apple—all the trees of the field are sear,” Joel 1:12).

It is paired with אֶרֶז (Ps 92:13).

It is collocated with גֶּפֶן and תַּפּוּחִים (Song 7:9).

[1] The toponym appears in the parallel passage in Chronicles (2 Chr 8:4) as תַּדְמֹר. The ancient translations of Chronicles agree with this reading (Septuagint: Θεδμορ; Peshitta: tdmwr; Vulgate: Palmyram; Targum of Chronicles: תדמור), as do many textual witnesses to the book of Kings (qere in many MT manuscripts: תַּדְמֹר; Septuagint [1 Kgs 2:46d]: Θερμαι; Lucianic manuscripts: θαδαμορ/θοδμορ; Targum Jonathan: תַדמוֹר; Peshitta: tdmwr; Vulgate: Palmyram [Tadmor]). תָּמָר should nonetheless be preferred.

[2] The full verse segment is: ‏וְהִיא יוֹשֶׁ֨בֶת תַּֽחַת־תֹּ֜מֶר דְּבוֹרָ֗ה בֵּ֧ין הָרָמָ֛ה וּבֵ֥ין בֵּֽית־אֵ֖ל בְּהַ֣ר אֶפְרָ֑יִם, apparently: “She [Deborah] used to sit under the tomer of Deborah between the Ramah and Bethel in the Ephraimite hill-country”—although the masoretic Songillation signs separate tomer and Deborah. While “Tomer of Deborah” may be understood as a toponym, this reading makes the word תַּחַת “under” difficult.

[3] The Septuagint appears to reflect the reading כתם rather then כתמר here: see BHK; BHS; Tov et al. 1997.

[4] While תָּמָר and תֹּמֶר may represent the same lexeme, they appear as separate entries in most dictionaries (Gesenius, Thesaurus; BDB; HALOT; DCH). The abnormal vocalization of tmr as tomer in Judg 4:5 and Jer 10:5 may have been prompted by the fact that these are the only two places in which it appears to be in the construct. Biblical Hebrew attests to a variety of abnormal vocalizations within the inflections of qatal nouns: see GKC, §93dd; Joüon, §96Bb. For more on the form תֹּמֶר, see Eichler 2017, passim.

[5] For the possible meanings of this simile, see Eichler 2017, passim.

Eichler, Raanan. 2017. “Jeremiah and the Assyrian Sacred Tree.” VT 67(3): 403–413.

Eichler, Raanan. 2020. “The Tree-Hugger Who Went on a Date: The Meaning of sansan.” VT 70(4): 581–591.

Löw, Immanuel. 1881. Aramäische Pflanzennamen. Leipzig: Wilhelm Engelmann.

Tov, Emanuel et al., eds. 1997. Jeremiah. Jerusalem: Hebrew University Bible Project (Hebrew).

Viezel, Eran. 2014. “סַנסְִנּיָו (sansinnāyw; Song of Songs 7:9) and the Palpal Noun Pattern.” JBL 133(4): 751–756.