heath Summary and Overview

Heb. 'arar, (Jer. 17:6; 48:6), a species of juniper called by the Arabs by the same name ('arar), the Juniperus sabina or savin. "Its gloomy, stunted appearance, with its scale-like leaves pressed close to its gnarled stem, and cropped close by the wild goats, as it clings to the rocks about Petra, gives great force to the contrast suggested by the prophet, between him that trusteth in man, naked and destitute, and the man that trusteth in the Lord, flourishing as a tree planted by the waters" (Tristram, Natural History of the Bible).

#Jer 17:6| was some species of juniper, probably the savin, a dwarf, stunted juniper which grows in the most sterile parts of the desert.

HEATH . Jer 17:6; Jer 48:6. No true heath is found in Palestine. There is great probability that the dwarf juniper or savin (Juniperus sabina), which grows in the most sterile and desolate parts of the desert, is the plant intended. "Its gloomy, stunted appearance, with its scale-like leaves pressed close to its gnarled stems and cropped close by the wild goats, as it clings to the rocks about Petra, gives great force to the contrast suggested by the prophet between him that trusteth in man, naked and destitute, and the man that trusteth in the Lord, flourishing as a tree planted by the waters." -- Tristram.

Hebrew aroer, arar; Arabic dnax; the Juniper sabina or Juniper savin with small scale-like leaves, close to the stem, a gloomy looking bush on a sterile soil, symbolizing "the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord" (Jeremiah 17:6); the Hebrew means "naked"; such is he whose defense is other than Jehovah, a shrub in a barren soil, contrasted with the "tree spreading out her roots by the river," i.e. the man that trusteth in Jehovah (Jeremiah 17:7-8; compare Jeremiah 48:6, margin).