The Palm Tree in the Bible (6)
Pole and Palisade
André H. Roosma
29 July 2014
(NL original: 30 March 2012)
In the previous article in the series on the Palm tree, on the palm tree and language we discussed
the Hebrew word for language, שָׂפָה -
sāphāh or שֶׂפֶת - sephet.
In the old pictographic script1:   
and:  , respectively. The latter we interpreted as:
sign(s) from the mouth of the palm tree.
However, these words have yet another group of meanings, namely
that of border or delineation.
A bit of background: palm trees often were growing around oases in the
desert, along streams of rivers, or along the seacoast. Palm trees () were also used
around an open space or terrain () to fence, delimit or mark it (),
especially for the wealthy, the rulers, etc.
Do you see what I see: - sephet - שֶׂפֶת [H8193]- border, brim, edge.
We recognize this background also in the origin of our words pole and
palisade and a row of related words in various European languages. These
are derived from Latin palus - pole or stake, say the dictionaries.
In the old script (from which also the Latin script is
derived!) this was written:    ; or – when leaving out
the vowels – shortly: .
I told about the surrounding or bordering of an open terrain or area with
palm trees. In between the palm trees often rows of smaller sticks () were put in the ground; sometimes also vines (those too: ) were
planted there. So, what I see here is: a property (or
open space: ) of a prominent leader
() with small sticks
or vines () and palm trees () around it used
as delineation or fence.
The connotation that we recognize in the word palisade was already in the
many poles and sticks put in a row like this...
Is the above surprising, given that the palm tree (both
the symbol and the word תמר) were used in the Bible already for
any straight-up standing pole or stake?
Notes
The other articles in this series on the Palm Tree in the Bible are: ‘(1) - Symbol of the
Tree of Life’, ‘(2) - Full of Rich
Symbolism’, ‘(3) - Sign of
God’s presence and speaking’, ‘(4) - Moses and the
Big Fire in the Palm-Top’, ‘(5) - The
‘language’ of the palm tree’, ‘(7) - More on the word
Tamar and a very young Palm Tree’, ‘The great golden Menorah – Sign of
God’s Presence’.
|
, a
living document by André H. Roosma, 1st
English version: 18 April 2011 (
