Forest

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Palestine was more wooded very anciently than afterward; the celebrated oaks and terebinths here and there were perhaps relics of a primeval forest on the highlands. But in the Bible the woods appear in the valleys and defiles leading from the highlands to the lowlands, so they were not extensive. "The wood of Ephraim" clothed the sides of the hills which descend to the plain of Jezreel and the plain itself near Bethshah ( Joshua 17:15-18), and extended once to Tabor which still has many forest trees. That "of Bethel" lay in the ravine going down to the plain of Jericho. That "of Hareth" on the border of the Philistine plain in the S. of Judah ( 1 Samuel 22:5). That "of Kirjath Jearim" ( 1 Samuel 8:2;  Psalms 132:6), meaning" town of the woods", on the confines of Judah and Benjamin; "the fields of the wood" from which David brought up the ark to Zion mean this forest town.

That "of Ziph-wilderness," where David hid, S.E. of Hebron ( 1 Samuel 23:15, etc.). Ephraim wood, a portion of the region E. of Jordan near Mahanaim, where the battle with Absalom took place ( 2 Samuel 18:6;  2 Samuel 18:23), on the high lands, a little way from the valley of the Jordan. (See Ephraim WOOD.) "The house of the forest of Lebanon" ( 1 Kings 7:2) was so-called as being fitted up with cedar, and probably with forest-like rows of cedar pillars. "Forest" often symbolizes pride doomed to destruction; ( Isaiah 10:18;  Isaiah 32:19) the Assyrian host dense and lifted up as the trees of the forest; ( Isaiah 37:24) "the forest of his Carmel," i.e., its most luxuriant forest, image for their proud army.

Forest also symbolizes unfruitfulness as opposed to cultivated lands ( Isaiah 29:17;  Isaiah 32:15). Besides Ya'Ar , implying "abundance of trees", there is another Hebrew term, Choresh from a root "to cut down," implying a wood diminished by cutting ( 1 Samuel 23:15;  2 Chronicles 27:4). In  Isaiah 17:9 for "bough" translated "his strong cities shall be as the leavings of woods," what the axeman leaves when he cuts down the grove ( Isaiah 17:6). In  Ezekiel 31:3, "with a shadowing shroud," explain with an overshadowing thicket. A third term is Pardeec , related to "paradise" ( Nehemiah 2:8), "forest") a park, a plantation under a "keeper." The Persian kings preserved the forests throughout the empire with care, having wardens of the several forests, without whose sanction no tree could be felled.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Ecclesiastes 2:6 Isaiah 44:14 Jeremiah 5:6 Micah 5:8 2 Samuel 18:6,8 Joshua 17:15,18 Psalm 132:6 1 Samuel 22:5 2 Kings 2:23,24 1 Samuel 14:25 1 Kings 4:33 2 Kings 19:23 Hosea 14:5,6

"The house of the forest of Lebanon ( 1 Kings 7:2;  10:17;  2 Chronicles 9:16 ) was probably Solomon's armoury, and was so called because the wood of its many pillars came from Lebanon, and they had the appearance of a forest. (See Baalbec .)

Heb. horesh, denoting a thicket of trees, underwood, jungle, bushes, or trees entangled, and therefore affording a safe hiding-place. place. This word is rendered "forest" only in   2 Chronicles 27:4 . It is also rendered "wood", the "wood" in the "wilderness of Ziph," in which david concealed himself ( 1 Samuel 23:15 ), which lay south-east of Hebron. In  Isaiah 17:19 this word is in Authorized Version rendered incorrectly "bough."

Heb. pardes, meaning an enclosed garden or plantation. Asaph is (  Nehemiah 2:8 ) called the "keeper of the king's forest." The same Hebrew word is used  Ecclesiastes 2:5 , where it is rendered in the plural "orchards" (RSV, "parks"), and  Song of Solomon 4 ::  13 , rendered "orchard" (RSV marg., "a paradise").

"The forest of the vintage" ( Zechariah 11:2 , "inaccessible forest," or RSV "strong forest") is probably a figurative allusion to Jerusalem, or the verse may simply point to the devastation of the region referred to.

The forest is an image of unfruitfulness as contrasted with a cultivated field ( Isaiah 29:17;  32:15;  Jeremiah 26:18;  Hosea 2:12 ). ( Isaiah 10:19,33,34 ) likens the Assyrian host under Sennacherib (q.v.) to the trees of some huge forest, to be suddenly cut down by an unseen stroke.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

1. choresh , 'thick intricate wood,'  2 Chronicles 27:4; also translated 'wood' in  1 Samuel 23:15,16,18,19 .

2. yaar , a 'forest.' This is the word commonly used for both 'wood' and 'forest;' to be distinguished from a third word, pardes,  Nehemiah 2:8 , which signifies 'a park,' with cultivated trees, whereas the other is wild.

Several forests are specified under the word yaar.

1. The forest in Arabia   Isaiah 21:13; its situation is unknown.

2. The 'forest of his CARMEL.'   2 Kings 19:23;  Isaiah 37:24 .This reads in the margin, and in the R.V., 'forest of his fruitful field,' and does not refer to any forest connected with Carmel.

3. The forest of Hareth   1 Samuel 22:5 : situated in Judah, but not known.

4. The forest of LEBANON.   1 Kings 7:2;  1 Kings 10:17,21;  2 Chronicles 9:16,20 .

The context shows that these passages do not refer to the forest at Lebanon; but that Solomon had a house at Jerusalem built of the trees from Lebanon, and called it 'the house of the forest of Lebanon.' The actual forest at Lebanon is often referred to for its noble trees.

5. The wood of EPHRAIM in which Absalom was slain, on the east of the Jordan.   2 Samuel 18:6,8,17 . This has not been identified. It has been suggested that the pride and defeat of Ephraim mentioned in  Judges 12:1-6 caused some forest to be called after the name of that tribe. This place, by its swamps, morasses and pits, 'devoured' the Israelites by preventing their escape.

Holman Bible Dictionary

Large expanses of forest covered the majority of the hills in Palestine during the Old Testament period. Because of their locations on hilly, rocky soil, forests were considered unfarmable in early periods. After the Exodus, the inability of the Israelite tribes to conquer much of their inheritance forced them to develop new settlements and camps in the wooded hill country. Unable to rescue their portion from the hands of the Canaanites, the clans of Ephraim and Manasseh cleared the forests among the hills in their territory to provide room for settlement ( Joshua 17:15-18 ). Forests also provided excellent staging areas for warfare, such as the rebellion of Absalom against David which ended with a battle in the forests of Ephraim ( 2 Samuel 18:6-8 ).

The valuable cedars of Lebanon were imported from Tyre by Solomon for his extensive building projects in Jerusalem ( 1 Kings 5:8-10 ). Solomon's palace, “The house of the forest of Lebanon,” was so named for its extensive use of these cedars ( 1 Kings 7:2 ). As the population expanded, forested areas were cut down, and terraced orchards took their place. Large portions of the forests around Jerusalem were destroyed during the Roman seige of the city in A.D. 70.

David Maltsberger

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

FOREST. 1. ya‘ar (root meaning a ‘rugged’ place),   Deuteronomy 19:5 ,   2 Kings 2:24 ,   Jeremiah 46:23 ,   Micah 3:12 etc. 2. horesh ,   2 Chronicles 27:4 etc.; tr. [Note: translate or translation.] ‘wood,’   1 Samuel 23:15 (perhaps a proper name). 3. pardçs ,   Nehemiah 2:3 AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘king’s forest,’ RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ‘park’; also tr. [Note: translate or translation.] ‘orchards,’   Song of Solomon 4:13 ,   Ecclesiastes 2:5 , RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘parks.’ From the many references it is clear that Palestine had more extensive forests in ancient times than to-day, indeed, within living memory there has been a vast destruction of trees for fuel. Considerable patches of woodland still exist, e.g. on Tabor and Carmel, in parts of N. Galilee, around Banias, and specially in Gilead between es-Salt and the Jabbok.

E. W. G. Masterman.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Isaiah 32:15 (a) This type is used to describe the abundant blessing that accompanies the unhindered ministry of the Holy Spirit. When He is recognized, is present and is working in power, then there is an abundance of life, hearts are enriched, souls are saved, and Christians become fruitful.

 Isaiah 44:23 (b) This is a picture of the rich blessing that the earth will enjoy when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to earth to reign on the throne of David. (See  Psalm 29:9).

 Jeremiah 5:6 (c) The forest is probably a type of the great group of nations of the world, out of which would come a conqueror. (See also  Ezekiel 15:6).

King James Dictionary

FOR'EST, n. L. foris.

1. An extensive wood, or a large tract of land covered with trees. In America, the word is usually applied to a wood of native growth, or a tract of woodland which has never been cultivated. It differs from wood or woods chiefly in extent. We read of the Hercynian forest, in Germany, and the forest of Ardennes, in France or Gaul. 2. In law, in Great Britain, a certain territory of woody grounds and pastures, privileged for wild beasts and fowls of forest, chase and warren, to rest and abide in, under the protection of the king, for his pleasure. In this sense, the word has no application in America.

Forest laws, laws for governing and regulating forests, and preserving game.

FOR'EST, To cover with trees or wood.

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( a.) Of or pertaining to a forest; sylvan.

(2): ( v. t.) To cover with trees or wood.

(3): ( n.) An extensive wood; a large tract of land covered with trees; in the United States, a wood of native growth, or a tract of woodland which has never been cultivated.

(4): ( n.) A large extent or precinct of country, generally waste and woody, belonging to the sovereign, set apart for the keeping of game for his use, not inclosed, but distinguished by certain limits, and protected by certain laws, courts, and officers of its own.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Forest. Although Palestine has never been in historical times, a woodland country, yet there can be no doubt that there was much more wood, formerly, than there is at present, and that the destruction of the forests was one of the chief causes of the present desolation.

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

See Lebanon

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

is the rendering in the Auth. Vers. of three distinct Heb. words. (See Topographical Terms).

1.' Usually and most properly יִעִר , Ya'Ar, or יִעֲרָה , Yaa'Rah (once rendered; "wood,"  Deuteronomy 19:5), signifying a dense woods from its Redundancy Or Luxuriance, such as is seen in the growth of forest-trees, and in use restricted (with the exception of  1 Samuel 14:26, and  Song of Solomon 5:1, in which it refers to honey) to an abundance of trees. It is the name given to all the great primeval forests of Syria, where the stately trees grew ( Ecclesiastes 2:6;  Isaiah 44:14), and where the wild beasts had their homes ( Jeremiah 5:6;  Micah 5:8). Hosea ( Hosea 2:12) appears to use it as equivalent to the Arabic Ya'Ur, a Rugged And Desolate Place, like Midbar or "wilderness." (See Wood).

2. חֹרֶשׁ , Cho'Resh, is apparently derived from a Chaldee root, חֲרִשׁ , to be entangled, and would therefore signify A Thicket of trees or bushes, such as might afford a safe hiding-place (comp.  1 Samuel 23:15), and such as is now often seen in Palestine on the sites of ruined cities (comp.  Isaiah 17:9). It applies to woods of less extent, the word itself, according to others, involving, the idea of what is cut down (from חָרִשׁ , Gesen. Thes. page 530): it is only twice ( 1 Samuel 23:15 sq.;  2 Chronicles 27:4) applied to woods properly so called; its sense, however, is illustrated in the other passages in which it occurs, viz.  Isaiah 17:9 (A.V. "bough"), where the comparison is to the solitary relic of an ancient forest, and  Ezekiel 31:3, where it applies to trees or foliage sufficient to afford shelter (Vulg. Frondibus Nemorosus; A.V. "with a shadowing shroud"). The term occurs seven times in Scripture, but is only once rendered forest" In the forests (Sept. Ἐν Τοῖς Δρυμοῖς ) he built castles and towers" ( 2 Chronicles 27:4). The locality here referred to appears to be the south of Judah, where the mountains were formerly, and are in places still, clothed with dwarf oaks and tangled shrubberies. (See Thicket).

3. פִּרְדֵּס , Pardes', a word of foreign origin, like the Greek Παράδεισος , and the Arabic Pardasun, q.d. Park, means An Enclosed Garden or Plantation attached to a palace, intended either for ornament or for containing animals of the chase ( Ecclesiastes 2:5;  Song of Solomon 4:13; comp. Xenophon, Cyrop. 1:3, 12). It is found only three times in the Bible, and is once translated forest. In  Nehemiah 2:8, Asaph is called "the keeper of the king's forest" (Sept. Τοῦ Παραδείσου ) , where it appropriately expresses the care with which the forests of Palestine were preserved under the Persian rule, a regular warden being appointed, without whose sanction no tree could be felled. Elsewhere the word describes an orchard ( Ecclesiastes 2:5;  Song of Solomon 4:13). (See Orchard).

Although Palestine has never, in historical times, been a woodland country, yet there can be no doubt that it contained much more wood formerly than it has at present. Tracts of woodland are mentioned by travelers in Palestine, but rarely what we should call a forest. There are still some remnants of ancient oak forests on the mountains of Bashan, Gilead, Hermon, and Galilee. One solitary grove of cedars exists on Lebanon, but fir-trees are there abundant. The other forests of Palestine ( 2 Kings 2:23;  1 Samuel 14:25;  1 Samuel 7:2, etc.) have almost disappeared. Yet here and there, in every district of the country, north and south, east and west, one meets with a solitary oak or terebinth of huge dimensions, as at Hebron, and the valley of Elah, and Shiloh, and Daniel These are the last trees of the forests, and serve to indicate what the forests of Palestine once were. Hence it is probable that the highlands were once covered with a primeval forest, of which the celebrated oaks and terebinths (e.g. those of Abraham, Tabor, etc.) scattered here and there were the relics. The woods and forests mentioned in the Bible appear to have been situated where they are usually found in cultivated countries, in the valleys and defiles that lead down from the high to the low lands, and in the adjacent plains. They were therefore of no great size, and correspond rather with the idea of the Latin saltus than with our forest. The following are those that occur in Scripture. (See Tree).

(1.) The most extensive was The Forest (Yaar, "wood") Of Ephraim, implying a region of Ephraim covered with forests where Mount Jearim (Hill Of Forests) was situated ( Joshua 15:10); or in allusion to the name of the city Kirjath-jearim ( 1 Samuel 7:1-2). It clothed the slopes of the hills that bordered the plain of Jezreel, and the plain itself in the neighborhood of Bethshan ( Joshua 17:15 sq.), extending, perhaps, at one time to Tabor, which is translated Δρυμός by Theodotion ( Hosea 5:1), and which is still well covered with forest-trees (Stanley, p. 350). It is, perhaps, the same with the wood of Ephratah ( Psalms 132:6). (See Ephratah).

(2.) There was a Trans-Jordanic Forest (Yaar, "wood") Of Ephraim ( 2 Samuel 18:6; Sept. Δρυμός ) . It was here that the army of Absalom was defeated, and he himself slain. It lay near, probably a little to the west of, the town of Mahanaim, where David had his headquarters, and where he received the first tidings of the fate of his son (17:26; 18:24). Why a forest east of the Jordan should bear the name Ephraim cannot now be determined; but one thing is certain — in the noble oaks which still clothe the hills of Gilead north of the Jabbok we see the remnants of "the wood of Ephraim," and the representative of that "great oak" in one of whose branches Absalom was strangely imprisoned (18:9; see Porter's Handbook For Syria And Palestine, pages 311, 314). Winer places it on the west side of the Jordan; but a comparison of  2 Samuel 17:26;  2 Samuel 18:3;  2 Samuel 18:23, proves the reverse. The statement in 18:23, in particular, marks its position as on the highlands, at some little distance from the valley of the Jordan (comp. Joseph. Ant. 7:10, 12). (See Wood Of Ephraim).

(3.) The Forest (Yaar, Sept. Πόλις , A.V. "forest") Of Hareth, in the mountains of Judah, to which David withdrew to avoid the fury of Saul ( 1 Samuel 22:5), was somewhere on the border of the Philistine plain, in the southern part of Judah. (See Hareth).

(4.) The Wood (Choresh, Sept. Ὄρος , A.V. "wood") In The Wilderness Of Ziph, in which David concealed himself ( 1 Samuel 23:15 sq.), lay south- east of Hebron. (See Ziph).

(5.) The Forest (Yaar, Sept. Δρυμός , A.V. "wood") Of Bethel ( 2 Kings 2:23-24) was situated in the ravine which descends to the plain of Jericho. — (See Bethel). —

(6.) The Forest (Yaar, Δρυμός , "wood") through which the Israelites passed in their pursuit of the Philistines ( 1 Samuel 14:25) was probably near Aijalon (1 Samuel 5:31), in one of the valleys leading down to the plain of Philistia. (See Saul).

(7.) The Woods (Choresh, Δρυμός , "forest") in which Jotham placed his forts ( 2 Chronicles 27:4) must have been similarly situated. (See Jotham).

(8.) The plain of Sharon was partly covered with wood (Strab. 17:758), whence the Sept. gives Δρυμοί as an equivalent for that name in  Isaiah 65:10. It has still a fair amount of wood (Stanley, page 260). SEE SHARON.

(9.) The Excellency Or Pride Of The Jordan, so called from its green and shady banks, clothed with willows, tamarisks, and cane, in which lions made their covert ( Zechariah 11:3;  Jeremiah 12:5). (See Jordan).

(10.) The Forest (Yaar) Of Cedars On Mount Lebanon ( 2 Kings 19:23;  Hosea 14:5-6), which must have been much more extensive formerly than at present; although, on the assumption that the "cedar" of Scripture is the Pinus Cedrus, or so-called " cedar of Lebanon," its growth is by no means confined, among those mountains, to the famous clump of ancient trees which has alone engaged the attention of travelers. (See Cedar). The American missionaries and others, travalling by unfrequented routes, have found woods of less ancient cedar-trees in other places. (See 1. Lebanon) "The house of the Forest (Yaar) of Lebanon" is several times mentioned. It appears to have been a part of the royal palace built by Solomon at Jerusalem, and used as an armory ( 1 Kings 7:2 sq.;  2 Kings 10:17-21;  2 Chronicles 9:16-20). The house had "four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars, and it was covered with ceda, above upon thee beams." Hence, in all probability, its name (see Keil, ad loc.). (See Solomon).

"The forest (yaar, Δρυμός ) Of Carmel is a phrase used is  2 Kings 19:23, and  Isaiah 37:24, in reference to the ravages committed by the army of Sennacherib on the land of Israel. The meaning of the clause, יִעִר כִּרְמַלוֹ ("forest of his Carmel"), seems to be Its Garden forest; that is,' the garden-like cedar forests of Lebanon, to which reference is made (see Keil on Kings, and Alexander on Isaiah, ad loc.).

(11.) The Forest (Yaar) in Arabia" occurs in  Isaiah 21:13. The phrase is remarkable, because Arabia is a country singularly destitute of trees. In no part of it are there any, traces of forests.' (The Sept. translates the passage Ἐν Τῷ Δρυμῷ Ἑσπὲρας ; and Lowth and others adopt. it; but the Masoretic reading is preferable.) The meaning of the word יִעִר in this place is probably the same as that of the Arabic yaur, a rugged region, whether wooded or not. (See Arabia).

(12.) In  Zechariah 11:2 there is a singular expression "Howl, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the Forest Of The Vintage is come down." The Hebrew יִעִר הִבֵּצַוֹר (Sept. Ὁ Δρυμὸς Ὁ Σύμφυτος ) rather signifies "the fortified forest" (Vulg. Saltus munitus), and it is probable that Jerusalem is thus figuratively alluded to, the houses of which are close together as the trees of a forest (compare  Micah 3:12; see Henderson, Of The Minor Prophets, ad loc.). It may, however, refer to the devastation of that region, for the greater portion of Peaea was, and still is, covered with forests of oak and terebinth ( Isaiah 2:13,;  Ezekiel 27:6; comp. Buckingham's Palestine, page 103 sq., 240 sq.; Stanley, p. 324). (See Bashan).

Forest is used symbolically to denote a city, kingdom, polity, or the like (Ezekiel 14:26). Devoted kingdoms are also represented under the image of a forest, which God threatens to burn or cut down. (See  Isaiah 10:17-19;  Isaiah 10:34, where the briers and thorns denote the common people; "the glory of the forest" are the nobles and those of highest rank and importance. See also  Isaiah 32:19;  Isaiah 37:24;  Jeremiah 21:14;  Jeremiah 22:7;  Jeremiah 46:23;  Zechariah 11:2.) It was also an image of unfruitfulness as contrasted with a cultivated field or vineyard ( Isaiah 29:17;  Isaiah 32:15;  Jeremiah 26:18;  Hosea 2:12). (See Palestine).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

for´est  :

(1) חרשׁ , ḥōresh (compare proper name Harosheth ),  2 Chronicles 27:4 . In  1 Samuel 23:15 translated "wood"; in   Isaiah 17:9 , "wood"; in  Ezekiel 31:3 , "forest-like shade." Applied to any thick growth of vegetation but not necessarily so extensive as (3).

(2) פרדּס , pardēṣ ̌  :   Nehemiah 2:8 , margin "park";  Ecclesiastes 2:5 , the King James Version "orchards," the Revised Version (British and American) "parks";  Song of Solomon 4:13 , English Versions of the Bible "orchard," the Revised Version, margin "paradise." A word of Persian origin signifying probably an enclosure. See Paradise .

(3) יער , ya‛ar from root meaning "rugged"; compare Arabic wa‛ar , "a rugged, stony region." It is sometimes rendered "forest" and sometimes (but less often in the Revised Version (British and American)) "wood." It is used of certain definite wooded tracts: "the forest in Arabia" ( Isaiah 21:13 , margin "thickets"); "the forest of Carmel" ( 2 Kings 19:23 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "of his fruitful field"); "the forest of Hereth" (  1 Samuel 22:5 ); "the forest of Lebanon" ( 1 Kings 7:2 f;   1 Kings 10:17-21;  2 Chronicles 9:16-20 ); "the forest of Ephraim," east of the Jordan ( 2 Samuel 18:6 ,  2 Samuel 18:8 ,  2 Samuel 18:17 ). The word ya‛ar appears also in well-known Kiriath-jearim, "the city of forests," and Mr. Jearim ( Joshua 15:10 ). Among numerous other references the following may be cited:  Deuteronomy 19:5;  Joshua 17:15 ,  Joshua 17:18;  1 Chronicles 16:33;  2 Kings 2:24;  Psalm 80:13;  Psalm 83:14;  Psalm 96:12;  Psalm 132:6;  Ecclesiastes 2:6;  Song of Solomon 2:3;  1 Samuel 7:2;  1 Samuel 14:25 ,  1 Samuel 14:26;  Jeremiah 4:29;  Jeremiah 46:23;  Ezekiel 34:29;  Micah 3:12;  Micah 7:14 .

(4) סבך , ṣebhakh , from root meaning "to interweave." A "thicket" ( Genesis 22:13;  Jeremiah 4:7 ); "thicket of trees" ( Psalm 74:5 ); "thickets of the forest" ( Isaiah 9:18;  Isaiah 10:34 ).

(5) עבים , ‛ābhı̄m , "thicket" ( Jeremiah 4:29 ).

From many references it is evident that Palestine had in Old Testament times much more extensive forests and woodlands than today. For a discussion of the subject see Botany .

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Tracts of wood-land are mentioned by travelers in Palestine, but rarely what we should call a forest. The word translated by 'forest' does not necessarily mean more than 'wood-land.' There are, however, abundant intimations in Scripture that the country was in ancient times much more wooded than at present, and in parts densely so. The localities more particularly mentioned as woods or forests are—

1. The forest of cedars on Mount Lebanon (;; ), which must have been much more extensive formerly than at present.

The name of 'House of the Forest of Lebanon'is given in Scripture to a palace which was built by Solomon in, or not far from, Jerusalem, and which is supposed to have been so called on account of the quantity of cedar-trees employed in its construction; or, perhaps, because the numerous pillars of cedar-wood suggested the idea of a forest of cedar-trees.

2. The forest of oaks, on the mountains of Bashan. The trees of this region have been already noticed under Bashan.

3. The forest or wood of Ephraim, already noticed under Ephraim, 4.

4. The forest of Hareth, in the south of Judah, to which David withdrew to avoid the fury of Saul . The precise situation is unknown.

Forest is used symbolically to denote a city, kingdom, polity, or the like . Devoted kingdoms are also represented under the image of a forest, which God threatens to burn or cut down. See; , where the briers and thorns denote the common people; 'the glory of the forest' are the nobles and those of highest rank and importance. See also;;;;; .