King James Bible Dictionary

(Heb. e'rez, Gr. kedros, Lat. cedrus), a tree very frequently mentioned in Scripture. It was stately (Ezekiel 31:3-5), long-branched (Psalms 80:10; 92:12; Ezekiel 31:6-9), odoriferous (Song of Solomon 4:11; Hosea 14:6), durable, and therefore much used for boards, pillars, and ceilings (1 Kings 6:9, 10; 7:2; Jeremiah 22:14), for masts (Ezekiel 27:5), and for carved images (Isaiah 44:14).

It grew very abundantly in Palestine, and particularly on Lebanon, of which it was "the glory" (Isaiah 35:2; 60:13). Hiram supplied Solomon with cedar trees from Lebanon for various purposes connected with the construction of the temple and the king's palace (2 Samuel 5:11; 7:2, 7; 1 Kings 5:6, 8, 10; 6:9, 10, 15, 16, 18, 20; 7:2, 3, 7, 11, 12; 9:11, etc.). Cedars were used also in the building of the second temple under Zerubbabel (Ezra 3:7).

Of the ancient cedars of Lebanon there remain now only some seven or eight. They are not standing together. But beside them there are found between three hundred and four hundred of younger growth. They stand in an amphitheatre fronting the west, about 6,400 feet above the level of the sea.

The cedar is often figuratively alluded to in the sacred Scriptures. "The mighty conquerors of olden days, the despots of Assyria and the Pharaohs of Egypt, the proud and idolatrous monarchs of Judah, the Hebrew commonwealth itself, the war-like Ammonites of patriarchal times, and the moral majesty of the Messianic age, are all compared to the towering cedar, in its royal loftiness and supremacy (Isaiah 2:13; Ezekiel 17:3, 22, 23, 31:3-9; Amos 2:9; Zechariah 11:1, 2; Job 40:17; Psalms 29:5; 80:10; 92:12, etc).", Groser's Scrip. Nat. Hist. (See BOX-TREE.)

Valuable for building purposes
Isaiah 9:10

David's ample provision of, in Jerusalem, for the temple
2 Chronicles 1:15; 2 Chronicles 2:3-4

Furnished by Hiram, king of Tyre, for Solomon's temple
1 Kings 5:6-10; 1 Kings 9:11; 2 Chronicles 2:16

Used in rebuilding the temple
Ezra 3:7

Used in David's palace
2 Samuel 5:11; 1 Chronicles 17:1

Used in Solomon's palace
1 Kings 7:2

Used for masts of ships
Ezekiel 27:5

Used in purifications
Leviticus 14:4; Leviticus 14:6; Leviticus 14:49-52; Numbers 19:6

Figurative
Psalms 72:16; Psalms 92:12; Isaiah 2:13; Isaiah 14:8; Jeremiah 22:7; Ezekiel 31:3; Zech 11:2

The Hebrew word erez , invariably rendered "cedar" by the Authorized Version, stands for that tree in most of the passages where the word occurs. While the word is sometimes used in a wider sense, (Leviticus 14:6) for evergreen cone-bearing trees, generally the cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) is intended. (1 Kings 7:2; 10:27; Psalms 92:12; Solomon 5:15; Isaiah 2:13; Ezekiel 31:3-6) The wood is of a reddish color, of bitter taste and aromatic odor, offensive to insects, and very durable. The cedar is a type of the Christian, being evergreen, beautiful, aromatic, wide spreading, slow growing, long lived, and having many uses. As far as is at present known, the cedar of Lebanon is confined in Syria to one valley of the Lebanon range, viz., that of the Kedisha river, which flows from near the highest point of the range westward to the Mediterranean, and enters the sea at the port of Tripoli. The grove is at the very upper part of the valley, about 15 miles from the sea, 6500 feet above that level, and its position is moreover above that of all other arboreous vegetation. ("Of the celebrated cedars on Mount Lebanon, eleven groves still remain. The famous B'Sherreh grove is three-quarters of a mile in circumference, and contains about 400 trees, young and old. Perhaps a dozen of these are very old; the largest, 63 feet in girth and 70 feet high, is thought by some to have attained the age of 2000 years."

Johnson's Encycl.)

CEDAR, noun A tree. This name is given to different species of the juniper, and to a species of Pinus. The latter is that which is mentioned in scripture. It is an evergreen, grows to a great size, and is remarkable for its durability.

CEDAR-LIKE, adjective Resembling a cedar.

CEDARN, adjective Pertaining to the cedar.