thyine wood Summary and Overview

mentioned only in Rev. 18:12 among the articles which would cease to be purchased when Babylon fell. It was called citrus, citron wood, by the Romans. It was the Callitris quadrivalvis of botanists, of the cone-bearing order of trees, and of the cypress tribe of this order. The name of this wood is derived from the Greek word "thuein", "to sacrifice," and it was so called because it was burnt in sacrifices, on account of its fragrance. The wood of this tree was reckoned very valuable, and was used for making articles of furniture by the Greeks and Romans. Like the cedars of Lebanon, it is disappearing from the forests of Israel.

occurs in #Re 18:12| where the margin has "sweet" (wood). There can be little doubt that the wood here spoken of is that of the Thuya articulata, Desfont the Callitris quadrivalvis of present botanists. It is a cone bearing tree and allied to the pine. This tree was much prized by Greeks and Romans on account of the beauty of its wood for various ornamental purposes. By the Romans the tree was called citrus, the wood citrum. It is a native of Barbary, and grows to the height of 15 to 25 feet.

Revelation 18:12, Callitris quadrivalvis of Mount Atlas in North Africa, allied to the "arbor vitro", Thuja occidentalis or articulata. The Romans prized it highly, and called it citrum; when Roman husbands upbraided ladies with extravagance in pearls, they retorted the men's fondness for thyine tables (Pliny, H. N. 13:15).