A tree (from its firmness); hence, wood (plural sticks)
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עֵץ (ets) is a common Hebrew noun for a living tree and for wood or timber taken from a tree. Genesis 1:11 uses it for fruit trees, Genesis 6:14 for the wood of the ark, Exodus 25:10 for acacia wood in the ark of the covenant, and Ezekiel 37:16 for a piece of wood used as a prophetic sign.
Reader summary
Full entry for עֵץ (H6086) · Open the biblical lexicon
עֵץ (ets) is a common Hebrew noun for a living tree and for wood or timber taken from a tree. Genesis 1:11 uses it for fruit trees, Genesis 6:14 for the wood of the ark, Exodus 25:10 for acacia wood in the ark of the covenant, and Ezekiel 37:16 for a piece of wood used as a prophetic sign.
The BSB source-word alignment has 329 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include wood (62), tree (27), the trees (25), trees (20), . . . (15).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 1:11. Its strongest book concentrations include Ezekiel (45), Exodus (31), Genesis (30), 1 Kings (29).
עֵץ (ets) is a common Hebrew noun for a living tree and for wood or timber taken from a tree. Genesis 1:11 uses it for fruit trees, Genesis 6:14 for the wood of the ark, Exodus 25:10 for acacia wood in the ark of the covenant, and Ezekiel 37:16 for a piece of wood used as a prophetic sign. The gloss must follow the object and setting; the word itself does not make every wooden item a symbol or every tree part of one continuous allegory.
Trees carry major literary and theological roles. Genesis 2:9 names the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Psalm 1:3 compares the person shaped by the Lord's instruction to a tree planted by streams, Proverbs 3:18 calls wisdom a tree of life to those who grasp her, and Jeremiah 17:8 uses a watered tree for the one who trusts the Lord. These images draw on rootedness, nourishment, fruit, and life while each passage retains its own argument.
Wood can also expose violence, judgment, and idolatry. Deuteronomy 21:22-23 regulates the body of an executed person hung on a tree, a text explicitly cited in Galatians 3:13. Isaiah 44:13-20 mocks the maker who burns part of a tree and fashions the rest into an idol. Ezekiel 47:12 envisions fruit trees nourished by the temple river, and Revelation 22 develops tree-of-life imagery in the new creation. The canonical connections are real, but they do not authorize treating every H6086 occurrence as a prediction of the cross or the final restoration.
Ets ranges from living trees and plant growth to timber, fuel, crafted objects, cultic furnishings, execution wood, prophetic signs, and rich literary images. The noun's ordinary material senses provide the ground for, but do not automatically become, its symbolic uses.
The garden contains trees pleasant and good for food, including the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Noah is commanded to make the ark from wood, showing the processed-material sense.
Acacia wood is specified for the ark, placing ets within skilled covenant craftsmanship.
Siege law protects fruit trees from indiscriminate destruction and distinguishes them from material used for siegeworks.
The body of a person hung on a tree must not remain overnight because the land must not be defiled.
The prophet traces an ordinary tree into fuel and an idol to expose the absurdity of worshiping a crafted object.
A piece of wood becomes a prophetic sign for the reunification of divided Israel under God's action.
The person who delights in the Lord's instruction is compared to a watered, fruitful tree.
Wisdom is called a tree of life for those who take hold of her.
Trees beside the temple river bear recurring fruit and leaves for healing within a restoration vision.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Hebrew word. a tree (from its firmness); hence, wood (plural sticks)
a tree (from its firmness); hence, wood (plural sticks) BDB: tree Usage: carpenter, gallows, helve, pine, plank, staff, stalk, stick, stock, timber, tree, wood.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
עֵץ is built from this root:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Ets helps teachers move carefully between material reality and biblical imagery. A tree may provide food, timber, shade, a sign, or a metaphor. Psalm 1 asks about roots and fruit; Deuteronomy 20 raises restraint even during war; Isaiah 44 exposes worship of human manufacture; Deuteronomy 21 and Galatians 3 locate the curse-bearing connection in an explicit citation; Ezekiel 47 and Revelation 22 hold out healing and restored life.
The safest canonical arc is built from passages that make the connection, not from attaching a hidden meaning to every tree or piece of wood. This restraint strengthens proclamation because ordinary uses remain visible, explicit quotations carry their proper weight, and major motifs can be traced without speculation. Teachers can honor creation, craftsmanship, wisdom, judgment, redemption, and restoration while letting each text establish the role of its tree or wood.
Gen.2.9
H6086 covers both living tree and processed wood or timber, including wooden objects. Translation and interpretation must follow syntax, referent, and literary setting rather than the lexeme alone.
Galatians 3:13 explicitly quotes Deuteronomy 21:23 in explaining Christ bearing the curse, and Revelation 22 reuses Genesis and Ezekiel imagery for the tree of life and healing. The Greek vocabulary and each New Testament context must be studied directly rather than assumed from H6086 alone.
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