Bible dictionaries

Cypress

What Bible dictionaries say about “Cypress”, one article after the other.

Easton’s Bible Dictionary & Webster’s 1828 Dictionary

Cypress - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

(Heb. tirzah, "hardness"), mentioned only in Isa. 44:14 (R.V., "holm tree"). The oldest Latin version translates this word by ilex, i.e., the evergreen oak, which may possibly have been the tree intended; but there is great probability that our Authorized Version is correct in rendering it "cypress." This tree grows abundantly on the mountains of Hermon. Its wood is hard and fragrant, and very durable. Its foliage is dark and gloomy. It is an evergreen (Cupressus sempervirens). "Throughout the East it is used as a funereal tree; and its dark, tall, waving plumes render it peculiarly appropriate among the tombs."

Cypress - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

CYPRESS, n. [L., Gr.]

1. A genus of plants or trees. The most remarkable are the sempervirens or common cypress, the evergreen American cypress or white cedar, and the disticha or deciduous American cypress. The wood of these trees is remarkable for its durability. The coffins in which the Athenian heroes and the mummies of Egypt were deposited, are said to have been made of the first species.

2 The emblem of mourning for the dead, cypress branches having been anciently used at funerals.

Had success attended the Americans, the death of Warren would have been sufficient to damp the joys of victory, and the cypress would have been united with the laurel.

Matthew George Easton, Easton’s Bible Dictionary; Noah Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language (1828)

The article in Easton + Webster 1828

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE 1915)

si'-pres.

See HOLM-TREE.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia — James Orr, general editor and contributors; CrossWire SWORD module ISBE 2.2

The article in ISBE 1915

Smith’s Bible Dictionary

(Heb. tirzah). The Hebrew word is found only in (Isaiah 44:14) We are quite unable to assign any definite rendering to it. The true cypress is a native of the Taurus. The Hebrew word points to some tree with a hard grain, and this is all that can be positively said of it.

William Smith; revised by F. N. Peloubet and M. A. Peloubet; CrossWire SWORD module Smith 1.3

The article in Smith

Translation Words

Definition

The term “cypress” refers to a kind of fir tree that was plentiful in the regions where people lived in Bible times, especially countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.

Cyprus and Lebanon are two places that are specifically mentioned in the Bible as having many cypress trees.
The wood that Noah used to build the ark may have been cypress.
Because cypress wood is sturdy and long-lasting, it was used by ancient peoples for building boats and other structures.

(See also: ark, Cyprus, fir, Lebanon)

Bible References

Word Data

Strong’s: H8645

The original work by unfoldingWord is available from https://www.unfoldingword.org/utw. Bible Strong converted the Markdown and resource links to its dictionary schema and normalized Bible references.

The article in Translation Words