the Berasit Hebrew Dictionary

Trees were considered important agriculturally for the fruit they bore, and the wood that could be harvested for construction materials. Cedar, olive, terebinth, oak, and other species are mentioned specifically.

However, there is significant evidence that the ancient yeberi culture included a few much more esoteric views based around trees.

Judges 9 contains a parable or fable involving trees which are meant to represent leaders. The story appears to lobby for meritocracy as a political agenda. The word for trees here is yexim, which is an anthropomorphization of trees, literally meaning “the Tree People”.

This seemingly metaphorical example is merely the first step toward a full appreciation of the cultural significance of trees.

Any visitor to Israel will quickly notice one fact. It is a land nearly bereft of trees. A few scattered graves do exist, but broadly speaking, there are few trees in the land.

As a stark contrast, the opening chapters of the ancient Hebrew texts occur primarily in a wooded land, perhaps a forest or jungle. It is within this context that the word aleh is introduced. Aleh is a tree, more specifically a hardwood, the exact species of which is variously interpreted as “Terebinth” or “Oak”. The contextual evidence for understanding aleh as a tree is incontrovertible. A few examples are shown below:

• Genesis 35:4 - he hid them under the oak which was near Shechem
• Joshua 24:26 - under the oak that was by the sanctuary
• Judges 6:11 - and he sat under an oak which was in Ophrah
• Judges 6:19 - and brought [it] out unto him under the oak, and presented
• 2 Samuel 18:9 - of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, so he was left hanging
• 1 Kings 13:14 - him sitting under an oak: and he said
• 1 Chronicles 10:12 - laid their bones under the oak in Jabesh
• Isaiah 1:30 - you will be like an oak whose leaf
• Isaiah 6:13 - will be [subject] to burning, Like a terebinth or an oak
• Ezekiel 6:13 - and under every thick oak poplar and terebinth whose shade is pleasant

The so-called “tree of knowledge of good and evil” is one of the most fascinating objects mentioned in the ancient Hebrew texts.

The Hebrew phrase is וְעֵ֕ץ הַדַּ֖עַת ט֥וֹב וָרָֽע (yex deyet fob rey), which means “tree intelligence improvement care”

The foundational stories of the yeberi inextricably link trees with intelligence. What are we to make of this? Traditional interpretations treat this in a rather unusual way. This specific tree is traditionally understood to have possessed some form of magical quality that mysteriously imparts intelligence to whoever would eat of its fruit. This seems rather out of keeping with the general theme and plot of the narrative as a whole. Could it be that we have fundamentally misunderstood some key element of this tree?

What if this ancient story is making a different connection between a tree and intelligence? What if this story is stating that the tree itself was intelligent?

Modern science is gradually having to admit that humans are not the only intelligent beings on earth. Studies have shown that many animals, including apes, dolphins, rats, octopi, and even ants exhibit levels of intelligence that demand a re-thinking of long held assumptions of human supremacy in the intellect department.

Furthermore, the ability to reason and perform deductive tasks has been shown to exist outside the animal kingdom. Numerous studies have proven that plants can communicate amongst themselves, releasing chemicals both above and below the ground to communicate with their neighbors to reduce damage from their environment. Mycorrhizal_networks encompassing entire ecosystems can utilize can be biochemical and electrical signals and can even transfer nutrients between disparate members of the ecosystem. This behaviour facilitates a literal economic system between species that until recently were thought (by humans at least) to possess no intelligence whatsoever. Even bacteria have been shown to exhibit various forms of communication, decision-making, and problem-solving, often through chemical signaling.

If the yeberi people recognized the inherent intelligence of trees, this fact may explain the otherwise somewhat perplexing appearance of a very important group of characters throughout the texts - the Alehim.

It seems strange that the primary characters of these ancient narratives are identified as an appellation aleh + im. Aleh clearly means “tree”, and im clearly indicates intelligence. Typically, we interpret im as “people”, but it is true that the im suffix also applies to animals, particularly domesticated animals. There are two other types of concepts that associated with im, both of which are highly abstract and require advanced intelligence to comprehend; numeracy and time