Fir: the uniform rendering in the Authorized Version (marg. R.V.,
"cypress") of "berosh" (2 Sam. 6:5; 1 Kings 5:8, 10; 6:15, 34;
9:11, etc.), a lofty tree (Isa. 55:13) growing on Lebanon
(37:24). Its wood was used in making musical instruments and
doors of houses, and for ceilings (2 Chr. 3:5), the decks of
ships (Ezek. 27:5), floorings and spear-shafts (Nah. 2:3, R.V.).
The true fir (abies) is not found in Israel, but the pine
tree, of which there are four species, is common.
The precise kind of tree meant by the "green fir tree" (Hos.
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. (See PINE T0002956.)