God’s Trees: Trees, Forests, and Wood in the Bible

by Julian Evans

Publisher:

Day One

, 2014

Overview

What might Noah’s Ark have been made of? Why was so much cedar imported by King Solomon for the temple, and what made it so special? Where do frankincense and myrrh come from? What do we know about the wood of the cross of Christ or the ancient olive trees in Gethsemane? Answering these questions and more, this unique work focuses on trees, forests, and wood in the Bible and how they were used.

Julian Evans’ book is richly illustrated with color photographs and original artwork. Evans writes in the style of a commentary, and includes a compendium providing additional details.

In the Logos edition, this volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.

Key Features

• Answers common questions about biblical flora
• Includes rich illustrations, photographs, and original artwork
• Provides insight into passages featuring tree and plant imagery

Contents

• ‘And God Saw that It Was Good’
• From Ark to Ark
• Use and Abuse of Trees
• Defining Boundaries and Setting Seals
• The Barter of Kings
• Metaphors of Peace, Permanence and Prospect
• Prophets—Pastoral and Painful
• Trees in Context and Out
• The Natural Illustration—Trees and Wood in Jesus’ Life and Times
• The Final Journey to a Wooden Cross
• Faith, Flotsam, and a Future in the Tree of Life

Top Highlights

“Claim to land and identity of ownership among tribal groups often relates to the trees an ancestor planted. The act of tree planting itself is seen as staking a claim. This customary ownership practice and the deeply held commitment to the land it represents, raises all sorts of issues when, say, governments want to carry out afforestation which, of course, usually means planting large numbers of trees! If all the trees our Queen has planted in her long reign were staking a claim, far more than our allegiance would she get!” (Page 20)

“Presenting this scene of quiet rural life and farming, getting on with everyday business, was important. We can forget that a major military tactic throughout the ages is destroying crops, farm implements, and livestock to curtail ‘the peasantry’ and their supply of resources. Think of Napoleon’s or Hitler’s armies invading Russia and how this tactic was used to effect, if ultimately causing more harm to invader than the invaded. Farming and war are inextricably linked like the Second World War blockades of convoys to bring Britain to her knees. So Ezekiel’s promise and hope of a return is painted in colours and images of an agrarian society.” (Page 113)

“Ezekiel’s picture of this great cedar tree resonates with a forester because sometimes in rain forest and occasionally elsewhere one tree grows high above the canopy of the rest, it is called an ‘emergent’. A lone tree towers above all others, it can be seen for miles around, but in great storms it can suffer disproportionately being so exposed. Ezekiel’s picture of the great tree’s end—branches scattered over the hillside or lying broken in ravines—is just what a site looks like after a clear fell or immediately after a great storm or other catastrophe.” (Page 112)

Product Details

• Title: God’s Trees: Trees, Forests and Wood in the Bible: An Illustrated Commentary and Compendium
• Author: Julian Evans
• Publisher: Day One
• Print Publication Date: 2014
• Logos Release Date: 2015
• Pages: 208
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Trees in the Bible; Trees › Religious aspects--Christianity
• ISBNs: 9781846254109, 1846254108
• Resource ID: LLS:GODSTREES
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T00:19:39Z

About Julian Evans

Julian Evans was formerly professor of forestry at Imperial College, prior to which he was the Forestry Commission’s chief research officer at the Alice Holt Research Station near Farnham, England. He has written or was a principal editor of some 16 books on forestry and tree-related subjects. He is currently president of Britain’s professional forestry body, the Institute of Chartered Foresters, and Chair of the Forestry Commission’s Expert Committee on Forest Science.