Tamarix, אשל (eshel), Tamarix aphylla [=T. articulata] (?) / Tamarix syriaca (?)

The אשל appears three times in narrative passages in the Hebrew Bible—once in Genesis (21:33) and twice in Samuel (1 Sam 22:6; 31:13). All the occurrences are realistic, referring to the tree’s natural properties: one adduces its planting in a cultic context (Gen 21:33), one describes king Saul sitting under its shade in a political context (1 Sam 22:6), and one relates how Saul’s and his sons’ bones were buried thereunder (1 Sam 31:13).

All three incidences of אשל are in pentateuchal or historiographical narrative passages. In Genesis 21, the אשל appears at the end of the story of the covenant Abraham makes with Abimelech king of Gerar (21:22–32) and the naming of Beer-sheba (21:31). As Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army return to the land of the Philistines (v. 32), Abraham plants an אשל tree in Beer-sheba and proclaims there (on) the name of YHWH, אל עולם (“the Everlasting God,” v. 33).^[1]

In 1 Samuel 22, אשל is mentioned as part of the story of David’s flight from Saul. When the latter discovers that David is in Gibeah (of Benjamin [cf. 1 Sam 13:2, 15; 14:16]), David is described as sitting under an אשל with his spear in his hand, all of his servants around him (v. 6). Here, the אשל (or its shade) serves as a venue for political gatherings (cf. 1 Sam 14:2).

The third occurrence of אשל is in 1 Samuel 31, at the end of the story of the battle against the Philistines on mount Gilboa, leading to the deaths of Saul and his three sons (vv. 1–6). When the Philistines find the bodies of Saul and his sons on the next day, they decapitate Saul and hang his body on the wall of Beth-shean (vv. 9–10). Upon hearing what the Philistines had done to Saul, the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead (Transjordan) travel all night, take the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shean, and burn them when arriving at Jabesh (vv. 11–12). Thereafter they bury the bones under the אשל tree in Jabesh (v. 13).

A Tall Tree with a Large Canopy. The phrase תחת האשל in 1 Sam 22:6 and 1 Sam 31:13 implies that the אשל is a large tree that gives a lot of shade, both verses describing humans performing actions under it: Saul sat “under the tamarisk tree on the height,” ושאול יושב בגבעה תחת האשל ברמה, and the people of Jabesh buried the bodies of Saul and his sons “under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh”, תחת האשל ביבשה (see also Zohary 1950, 763).[2]

Cultic Significance. Gen 21:33 suggests that the אשל played a role in the ancient Israelite cultus, since the action of calling (on) the name of YHWH (לקרוא בשם יהוה), which Abraham is described doing immediately after planting the אשל, refers to the worship of YHWH (cf., e.g., Joel 3:5; Zeph 3:9; Ps 116:4, 13, 17; see also BDB, 79; Zohary 1950, 763; Gunkel 1997, 233).[3] Calling (on) the name of YHWH is specifically linked to the building of an altar in the patriarchal narratives (cf. Gen 12:8; 13:4; 26:25; cf. Josh 24:26).[4] While elsewhere the custom of worshiping the deity underneath a tree is regarded as unfavorable and related to idolatry (cf. Deut 12:2; 1 Kgs 14:23; 2 Kgs 16:4; 17:10; Isa 57:5; Jer 2:20; 3:6, 13; Ezek 6:13; 2 Chr 28:4), Gen 21:33 does not present any objection to the act, attributing it to the first biblical patriarch himself.

An Adequate Burial Place for Royals. The burial of Saul’s and his sons’ bones under the אשל in Jabesh (1 Sam 31:13) suggests that this was regarded an appropriate burial place for people of high status (cf. Gen 35:8; see also Zohary 1950, 763–764). According to the parallel verse in 1 Chr 10:12, the bones of Saul and his sons were buried under an אלה tree (taberinth / Pistacia palaestina) in Jabesh, rather than under an אשל.

Habitat. According to Gen 21:33 and 1 Sam 31:13, the אשל grew in arid-desert regions—the Negeb (Beer-sheba) and mountains of Gilead (Jabesh-Gilead) east of the Jordan River. 1 Sam 22:6, in contrast, places the אשל in the Judean mountains (Gibeah of Benjamin)—i.e., within the Mediterranean biome. See more in Life & Natural Science section.

All the occurrences of אשל are realistic, describing its planting or referring to it as part of the natural background.

[1] This verse appears to be an interpolation (cf., e.g., Westermann 1986, 350; Gunkel 1997, 233). As Westermann notes, the absence of the subject from the verse sustains this assumption. It might have been added here on the basis of an associative arrangement of traditions concerning Beer-sheba.

[2] For other examples of biblical characters sitting underneath trees, see Gen 18:4, 8; Judg 4:5; 6:11, 19; 1 Sam 14:2; 1 Kgs 13:14; 19:4; Song 8:5.

[3] Gunkel (1997, 233) surmises that in planting an אשל Abraham established a cult (in which the deity was named was יהוה אל עולם), אשל perhaps even being a correction of אשרה (Ashera). According to Westermann (1986, 350), the tree served as a “lasting landmark,” Abraham’s proclamation signifying “that he sees that station as the place where he called on his God … [rather than] that he is practicing a cult.”

[4] Genesis 26 contains a tradition similar to that preserved in Gen 21:22–33, Abimelech and Isaac making a covenant in Beer-sheba (v. 28)—whose name is explained via a different etiological tale (vv. 32–33). This account also relates that before the covenant was made, Isaac “built an altar there” and “called on the name of YHWH” (v. 25). Thus, Genesis 21 and 26 share some very similar elements, though while Gen 21:33 tells of the planting of the אשל before proclaiming the name of YHWH (ויטע אשל [בבאר שבע] ויקרא שם בשם יהוה [אל עולם]), Gen 26:25 tells of the building of an alter (ויבן שם מזבח ויקרא בשם יהוה).

Amar, Zohar. 2012. Flora of the Bible: A New Investigation Aimed at Identifying All of the Plants of the Bible in Light of Jewish Sources and Scientific Research. Jerusalem: Rubin Mass (Hebrew).

Dalman, Gustaf. 1928–1942. Arbeit und Sitte in Palästina. 8 vols. Gütersloh: C. Bertelsmann.

Gunkel, Hermann. 1997. Genesis. Translated by Mark E. Biddle. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press.

Löw, Immanuel. 1924–1934. Die Flora der Juden. 4 vols. Vienna-Leipzig: R. Lowit.

Westermann, Claus. 1986. Genesis 12–36: A Commentary. Translated by John J. Scullion. London: SPCK.

Zohary, Michael. 1950. “אשל.” Cols. 763–765 in vol. 1 of Encyclopaedia Biblica. Edited by Naphtali Herz Tur-Sinai et al. 9 vols. Jerusalem: Bialik Institute, 1950–1988. (Hebrew).