WG: Wood / Tree / Construction Materials
Overview
The ets (wood/tree) concept cluster in Hebrew Scripture centers on the physical material that serves as both living creation and raw resource. These words frequently co-occur in construction, sacrifice, judgment, and idolatry contexts.
Word Group Members
| Strong's |
Word |
Transliteration |
POS |
Occurrences |
Role in Concept |
Library Entry |
| H6086 |
עֵץ |
ets |
m. noun |
288 |
Core term — tree (living) and wood (material) |
H6086-ets.md |
| H68 |
אֶבֶן |
even |
f. noun |
239 |
Paired material — "wood and stone" formula |
H68 |
| H784 |
אֵשׁ |
esh |
f. noun |
348 |
Consuming agent — fire on wood (sacrifice/judgment) |
H784 |
| H6529 |
פְּרִי |
periy |
m. noun |
107 |
Product — "fruit of the tree" |
TODO(need H6529 study) |
| H3293 |
יַעַר |
yaar |
m. noun |
59 |
Terrain — forest/woodland (collective trees) |
TODO(need H3293 study) |
| H363 |
אִילָן |
iylan |
m. noun |
6 |
Aramaic equivalent of ets |
TODO(need A363 study) |
Relationships
Co-occurrence (appear in same verses)
| Word A |
Word B |
Shared Verses |
Typical Context |
| ets (H6086) |
even (H68) |
40x |
"wood and stone" — idol formula; building materials for temple |
| ets (H6086) |
esh (H784) |
27x |
sacrificial wood on fire; judgment devouring trees |
| ets (H6086) |
periy (H6529) |
27x |
"fruit of the tree" — Eden, agriculture, covenant blessing |
| ets (H6086) |
yaar (H3293) |
14x |
"wood of the forest" — hewing timber; judgment fire in forests |
| even (H68) |
esh (H784) |
11x |
Sinai theophany; fire falling on stones and wood |
| esh (H784) |
yaar (H3293) |
6x |
forest fire as divine judgment |
LXX Overlaps
| Hebrew Words |
Shared Greek |
Notes |
| ets + even |
both → ξύλον + λίθος |
The "wood and stone" pair is preserved as xylon kai lithos in LXX |
| ets + yaar |
both → ξύλον in some contexts |
LXX sometimes uses xylon for forest contexts |
| ets + periy |
both → ξύλον + καρπός |
"fruit tree" → xylon karpon in LXX |
Roles in the Concept
- Core material: ets (עֵץ) — the tree/wood itself, in all its states
- Paired material: even (אֶבֶן) — stone, the complement in construction and the idol formula
- Consuming agent: esh (אֵשׁ) — fire that burns the wood (sacrifice, judgment, or destruction)
- Product: periy (פְּרִי) — fruit that the living tree yields (blessing, provision)
- Terrain: yaar (יַעַר) — the forest where trees grow collectively
- Aramaic parallel: iylan (אִילָן) — the tree in Daniel's visions (Dan 4)
Key Passages Where Multiple Group Words Appear Together
- 1 Ki 18:38 — [ets + even + esh] "Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones"
- 2 Ki 19:18 / Isa 37:19 — [ets + even + esh] "cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone"
- Eze 15:6 — [ets + esh + yaar] "As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fuel of the fire"
- Eze 20:47 — [ets + esh + yaar] "I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree"
- Eze 39:10 — [ets + esh + yaar] "they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire"
- Song 2:3 — [ets + periy + yaar] "As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved...and his fruit was sweet to my taste"
Generated from: gather_word_group_data.py, search_strongs.py
Last updated: 2026-05-03