Cedar: (Heb. e'rez, Gr. kedros, Lat. cedrus), a tree very frequently
mentioned in Scripture. It was stately (Ezek. 31:3-5),
long-branched (Ps. 80:10; 92:12; Ezek. 31:6-9), odoriferous
(Cant. 4:11; Hos. 14:6), durable, and therefore much used for
boards, pillars, and ceilings (1 Kings 6:9, 10; 7:2; Jer.
22:14), for masts (Ezek. 27:5), and for carved images (Isa.
44:14).
It grew very abundantly in Israel, and particularly on
Lebanon, of which it was "the glory" (Isa. 35:2; 60:13). Hiram
supplied Solomon with cedar trees from Lebanon for various
purposes connected with the construction of the temple and the
king's palace (2 Sam. 5:11; 7:2, 7; 1 Kings 5:6, 8,10; 6:9, 10,
15, 16, 18, 20; 7:2, 3, 7, 11, 12; 9:11, etc.). Cedars were used
also in the building of the second temple under Zerubbabel (Ezra
3:7).
Of the ancient cedars of Lebanon there remain now only some
seven or eight. They are not standing together. But beside them
there are found between three hundred and four hundred of
younger growth. They stand in an amphitheatre fronting the west,
about 6,400 feet above the level of the sea.
The cedar is often figuratively alluded to in the sacred
Scriptures. "The mighty conquerors of olden days, the despots of
Assyria and the Pharaohs of Egypt, the proud and idolatrous
monarchs of Judah, the Hebrew commonwealth itself, the war-like
Ammonites of patriarchal times, and the moral majesty of the
Messianic age, are all compared to the towering cedar, in its
royal loftiness and supremacy (Isa. 2:13; Ezek. 17:3, 22, 23,
31:3-9; Amos 2:9; Zech. 11:1, 2; Job 40:17; Ps. 29:5; 80:10;
92:12, etc).", Groser's Scrip. Nat. Hist. (See BOX-TREE
T0000636.)