Palm
Palm
()
The only passages in the NT containing references to the palm are Joh 12:13 and Rev 7:9. It flourishes in hot dry climates and is known to have been cultivated in Egypt and Babylonia at an early date. In the deserts of Arabia it is essential to existence, hence the Arabic saying that the palm has as many uses as there are days in a year. The palm referred to in the OT and NT is the PhCEnix dactylifera, L.; in Palestine it still flourishes in the maritime plain but seldom ripens in the hill-country. Its cultivation in Palestine has been neglected for a long time past, and there can be little doubt that in ancient times it was much more common than it is to-day.
The trunk of the palm does not increase in thickness from year to year like other trees but only rises higher, putting forth new leaves each year. The lower circle of leaves, sometimes as much as seven years old, gradually withers away, and as the stumps of the old leaves wear off the trunk becomes more slender as it increases in height. The leaves, which are pinnate and are often 12 ft. long, form a kind of dome at the summit of the tall bare stem. The male and female blossoms are on different trees, and it is consequently necessary to impregnate the female blossoms if the seed is not to be barren. This is effected either by tying a bunch of male blossom on to the female trees or else by shaking out the pollen over the female flowers. The flowers grow on a single or branched tuft, covered by a spathe or sheath, some of which contain many thousands of flowers. The core of the trunk is soft and pithy, and palm wood is therefore of little use as timber, though it is of value for rafters and gate-posts.
The fruit is a staple article of food among the modern Bedouins. It is gathered by a man who climbs the trunk, severs the clusters of dates, places them in a basket, and lowers them to the ground. The date is utilized in many ways. A kind of brandy is made from its juice, and also dibs, a syrup resembling honey, which forms a useful substitute for sugar. Baskets, mats, and all sorts of utensils are manufactured from its leaves; the crown of barren trees is boiled as a vegetable; camels are fed on the pounded stones, horses on the fruit-stalks; and the fibres of the leaf-stalk and fruit-stalk are used for ropes.
Branches of palms were regarded as appropriate emblems of triumph and jubilation, and they were carried at the Feast of Tabernacles, while they were also used in constructing the booths on the house-tops on the occasion of this festival (Lev 23:42). In Rev 7:9 the triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Joh 12:13) may be in view.
Literature.-H. B. Tristram, Natural History of the Bible10, 1911, p. 378 f.; J. C. Geikie, The Holy Land and the Bible, ed. 1887, i. 207 f., ed. 1903, p. 76; W. M. Thomson, The Land and the Book, 3 vols., ed. 1881-1886, passim, ed. 1910, p. 30; H. B. Swete, Apocalypse of St. John2, 1907, p. 100; P. S. P. Handcock, Mesopotamian Archaeology, 1912, p. 12 f.; HDB_ iii. 656 f.; SDB_, p. 675; EBi_ iii. 3551 f.
P. S. P. Handcock.
Fuente: Dictionary of the Apostolic Church
palm
A symbol of victory; adopted by the early Christians to represent the triumph of the faithful over the enemies of the soul. They are the special badge of martyrs, and the Congregation of Rites, 1688, regarded the representation of a palm on a catacomb tomb as proof that a martyr was interred there, but this was later declared untenable. The palm tree gives shade and fruit, and hence is emblematic of God’s protection and grace.
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Palm
Palm. A tree which grew to a height of about 18 to 30 meters (60-100 feet) and had long feathery leaves (branches; Neh 8:15; Joh 12:13; Rev 7:9). These branches were about two to three meters (six to eight feet) long and grew from the top of the trunk. Also called the date palm, this tree is believed to grow from 100 to 200 years old.
Palm branches were considered a symbol of victory ( Joh 12:13; Rev 7:9). Many places in the Bible were identified by the abundance of palm trees ( Exo 15:27; Deu 34:3; Jdg 1:16). One of the Hebrew words for palm, Tamar, was often used as a woman’s name ( Gen 38:6; 2Sa 13:1).
Fuente: Plants Animals Of Bible
Palm
is a frequent rendering of the Hebrew , kaph, properly something curved or hollow, and hence the interior of the hand. It is used as a general word for the hand, both in literal and figurative expressions, e.g. Ezra 21:16; 1Sa 4:3, as well as for the palms only, as Lev 18:26; Dan 10:10. It is also applied, like the Latin palma, to the branches of the palm-tree, from their curved form; as Lev 23:40. But the palm-tree is denoted in Hebrew by the word tamar, , from a root meaning to stand erect (Joe 1:12; Son 7:9; Exo 15:27), and by the word , tomer, from the same root. SEE HAND; SEE PALM-TREE.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Palm
PALM.The word occurs (Mar 14:65, Joh 18:22; cf. Joh 19:3) in the translation of , a blow with the open hand. It refers to the stroke on the cheek (Mat 5:39, Luk 6:29), one of the affronts and indignities that may have to be borne cheerfully in representing and serving the Kingdom of heaven. In Mat 26:67, Mar 14:65, a distinction is implied between the rough jest of hitting with the fist () by the soldiers standing in front of Christ and the smiting with the palm by the servants of the high priests as they stood behind and challenged Him to tell from whom the blow had come. For all Christ prayed that the sin committed in ignorance might be forgiven (Luk 23:34). It is only by a Christian that affront can really be put upon Christ (Php 3:18).
G. M. Mackie.
Fuente: A Dictionary Of Christ And The Gospels
Palm
Palm [WEIGHTS AND MEASURES]
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Palm
See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Palm
(the hand)
1Sa 5:4 (c) Apparently the Lord would teach us by this figure that when GOD’s presence is realized, the power of idolatry is broken. (See also 2Ki 9:35).
Isa 49:16 (b) In this beautiful way we are reminded of GOD’s constant thoughtfulness, remembrance, work and ministry for His children. The palm is toward the face. In all the work that He does, His own people are constantly in His mind, and the objects of His care. The graving on the hands was done by the nails of Calvary.
Dan 10:10 (c) In this passage we are probably being told that the touch of GOD upon the life, the ministry of the Spirit to the soul leads to an attitude of devotion, reverence and prayer.
(tree)
Exo 15:27 (c) The seventy trees probably represent the seventy descendants of Jacob who came with Jacob into Egypt (Gen 46:27). It is typical of their life of separation and of their prosperity in the midst of opposition of every kind. These trees were in association with the twelve wells of water, and this is to teach us that the Word of GOD and the Spirit of GOD will sustain the people of GOD on their journey to their Homeland.
1Ki 6:29 (b) This tree is usually a type of the individual Christian life. The tree grows in the desert in very unhappy surroundings and unfavorable conditions. This is true of most true Christians. The tree sends its roots down quite a long way to find an underground supply of water. By means of this it flourishes in the desert. In the same way the believer obtains his source of supply from the Holy Spirit who is the Living Water so that he too can flourish as a believer, a happy Christian, a fruit-bearing child of GOD in the midst of every adverse condition. Solomon had these palm trees carved in the wood of the temple to ever remind Israel that each one individually was to be responsible for his own individual Christian life. He was not to be influenced by the coldness, nor the rebellion of others around him. (See 2Ch 3:5; Eze 40:16).
Psa 92:12 (b) The palm tree in this passage is a type of the life that GOD expects from the Christian. He is to thrive in the midst of adverse conditions, even though he has no companions of like mind. He should, however, if it is possible, associate with other believers, for the cedar trees grow in forests, each one helping the other.
Jer 10:5 (a) This is the picture of a hypocrite. He pretends to be a genuine Christian but in reality is not so. It represents also the idol which is made to appear as lifelike as possible. False religions are thus described in Rev 17:4, and Rev 18:16. The word “decked” in both of those passages means “gilded” or “veneered.” They look like the genuine article, but are false.