Biblical Identification of the Shittah Tree

The Hebrew term shittah (plural shittim) refers to a species of acacia tree native to the Sinai Peninsula and Arabian deserts, identified by lexicographers and naturalists as either Acacia seyal or Acacia Nilotica ^{[1, 2]}. The wood of this tree, called shittim wood in English translations, was the primary construction material for the tabernacle and its furnishings during Israel's wilderness wanderings (Exodus 25–38). The name derives from a Hebrew root meaning "thorny" ^[3], reflecting the characteristic spines of acacia species.

Botanical Characteristics

The acacia grows plentifully in the desert regions where the Israelites traveled, sometimes reaching three to four feet in diameter ^[1]. Its wood is close-grained, hard, and displays a fine orange-brown color, making it well-suited for cabinet work and structural applications ^[1]. The tree's abundance in the Sinai wilderness made it the natural choice for tabernacle construction, where durability and availability were both essential. Smith's Bible Dictionary notes that the Acacia seyal is particularly common in parts of the peninsula ^[1], while Easton's identifies both Acacia Nilotica and A. seyal as candidates, with the former known in Arabic as sunt and the latter as seyal ^[2].

Tabernacle Usage

Shittim wood appears repeatedly in the tabernacle construction accounts. The ark of the covenant, the table of showbread, the altar of burnt offering, the altar of incense, and the structural framework of the tabernacle itself were all fashioned from this material ^{[1, 2]}. The wood's light weight combined with its strength made it practical for a portable sanctuary that had to be assembled, disassembled, and transported through the wilderness. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown describes it as "a shrub which grows plentifully in the deserts of Arabia, yielding a light, strong, and beautiful wood, in long planks" ^[6].

Prophetic and Rabbinic References

Isaiah 41:19 mentions the shittah tree in a prophetic oracle promising divine transformation: "I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree." Jamieson-Fausset-Brown identifies the shittah here as "the acacia, or Egyptian thorn, from which the gum Arabic is obtained" ^[5]. John Gill notes that the shittah tree is "thought to be a kind of cedar" and observes that the Targum renders it as cedar in this passage ^[4], though this appears to be a broader categorization rather than strict botanical equivalence.

Rabbinic tradition preserves an alternative identification. The Babylonian Talmud records that Rabba bar bar Ḥana, citing Rabbi Yoḥanan, identified shittin as "a type of figs" ^{[7, 8]}. This divergent tradition may reflect confusion between the tree name and the place name Shittim, or it may represent a regional variation in terminology. The same Talmudic passage discussing Isaiah 41:19 identifies the acacia (shittah) by its Aramaic name tornita and classifies it among ten species of cedar ^{[10, 11]}, suggesting that rabbinic taxonomy grouped various trees differently than modern botanical classification.

Geographic Context

The place name Shittim (or Abel-shittim) in the plains of Moab derives from the abundance of these acacia trees in that region ^[9]. John Gill describes it as "a sort of white thorn, or rather the acacia tree, since there was scarcely any thing else grew in the deserts of Arabia" ^[9]. This geographic distribution explains why the wood was readily available for tabernacle construction during the wilderness period, despite the Israelites' nomadic circumstances. The tree's adaptation to arid conditions and its presence throughout the Sinai and Arabian deserts made it the most accessible hardwood for a people traveling through regions where other timber was scarce.

Sources

Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Shittah Tree, Shittim — (Heb. shittah, the thorny), is without doubt correctly referred to some species of Acacia, of which three or four kinds occur in the Bible lands. The woof of this tree--perhaps the Acacia seyal is more definitely signified--was extensively employed in the construction of the tabernacle. See Exod 25,26,36,37,38. (This tree is sometimes three or four feet in diameter (Tristram). The wood is close-grained and hard, of a fine orange-brown color, and admirably adapted to cabinet work.--ED.) The A. seyal is very common in some parts of the peninsula ”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Shittah-tree — (Isa. 41:19; R.V., "acacia tree"). Shittah wood was employed in making the various parts of the tabernacle in the wilderness, and must therefore have been indigenous in the desert in which the Israelites wandered. It was the acacia or mimosa (Acacia Nilotica and A. seyal). "The wild acacia (Mimosa Nilotica), under the name of sunt, everywhere represents the seneh, or senna, of the burning bush. A slightly different form of the tree, equally common under the name of seyal, is the ancient 'shittah,' or, as more usually expressed in the plural form, the '”
Hitchcock's Bible Names “Hitchcock's Bible Names: Shittim — thorns”
Isaiah (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Isaiah 41:19: I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree,.... Where such trees had not used to grow, but in Lebanon, and such like places. The "shittah tree" is thought to be a kind of cedar; it is the same of which is the "shittim wood" mentioned in Exo 25:5 and is so called by the Targum here: and the myrtle, and the oil tree; about the former there is no difficulty, and one would think there should be none about the latter, and that the olive tree is meant; but Kimchi thinks that is not certain, and supposes the pine tree is meant; and observes that the olive ”
Isaiah (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Isaiah 41:19: (Isa 32:15; Isa 55:13). shittah--rather, the "acacia," or Egyptian thorn, from which the gum Arabic is obtained [LOWTH]. oil tree--the olive. fir tree--rather, the "cypress": grateful by its shade. pine--GESENIUS translates, "the holm." box tree--not the shrub used for bordering flower beds, but [GESENIUS] a kind of cedar, remarkable for the smallness of its cones, and the upward direction of its branches.”
Exodus (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Exodus 25:5: badgers' skins--The badger was an unclean animal, and is not a native of the East--rather some kind of fish, of the leather of which sandals are made in the East. [See on Exo 39:34 and Eze 16:10.] shittim wood--or Shittah (Isa 41:19), the acacia, a shrub which grows plentifully in the deserts of Arabia, yielding a light, strong, and beautiful wood, in long planks.”
Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 128a.80:22: The Gemara identifies these plants. Shittin , Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: They are a type of figs. Rimin are lote. Uzradin are crabapples. Benot shuaḥ , Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: They are white figs. Benot shikma , Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: They are the fruit of the sycamore tree. Gufnin are the last grapes which remain on the tree at the end of the season. Nitzpa are the fruit of the caper-bush. Novelot temara , Rabbi Il’a and Rabbi Zeira disagreed. One said that they are dates burned by”
Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 128b.80:22: The Gemara identifies these plants. Shittin , Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: They are a type of figs. Rimin are lote. Uzradin are crabapples. Benot shuaḥ , Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: They are white figs. Benot shikma , Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: They are the fruit of the sycamore tree. Gufnin are the last grapes which remain on the tree at the end of the season. Nitzpa are the fruit of the caper-bush. Novelot temara , Rabbi Il’a and Rabbi Zeira disagreed. One said that they are dates burned by”
Numbers (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Numbers 25:1: And Israel abode in Shittim,.... A place in the plains of Moab, so called from the shittim wood, which grew here in great abundance, so often mentioned in the building of the tabernacle; which was a sort of white thorn, or rather the acacia tree, since there was scarcely any thing else grew in the deserts of Arabia; see Gill on Exo 25:5 its full name was Abelshittim, Num 33:49, here the Israelites abode even to the death of Moses, for this was their last station in the wilderness; they were now on the borders of the land of Canaan, and just ready to enter into it, wh”
Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 70b.45:6: The Gemara comments: And this opinion of Rav Yehuda disagrees with that of Rabba bar Rav Huna. As Rabba bar Rav Huna said that they say in the school of Rav: There are ten species of cedar, as it is stated: “I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia tree and myrtle and the pine tree; I will set in the desert cypress, the plane tree, and the larch together” (Isaiah 41:19). The seven species mentioned in this verse are all types of cedars. The Gemara proceeds to identify these trees by their Aramaic names: Cedar is arza , acacia is tornita , ”
Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 70a.45:6: The Gemara comments: And this opinion of Rav Yehuda disagrees with that of Rabba bar Rav Huna. As Rabba bar Rav Huna said that they say in the school of Rav: There are ten species of cedar, as it is stated: “I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia tree and myrtle and the pine tree; I will set in the desert cypress, the plane tree, and the larch together” (Isaiah 41:19). The seven species mentioned in this verse are all types of cedars. The Gemara proceeds to identify these trees by their Aramaic names: Cedar is arza , acacia is tornita , ”

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