Bible Dictionary
Bay tree
“Bay tree” is the traditional rendering of a word meaning a native or indigenous tree. The passage pictures the wicked flourishing like a green tree in its native soil.
Definition
“Bay tree” is the traditional rendering of a word meaning native-born or indigenous. It describes a tree growing luxuriantly in its native soil rather than one transplanted. The traditional identification is the evergreen bay laurel, though the word itself does not require a particular species.
Biblical Usage
The expression occurs in the description of the wicked flourishing like a green tree. The Revised Version renders the phrase “like a green tree in its native soil.”
Historical Background
The bay laurel, if intended, was regarded as a native of Palestine. The supplied material emphasizes that the Hebrew word primarily means indigenous.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Named only in Ps. 37:35, Authorized Version. The Hebrew word so rendered is ereh, which simply means “native born”, i.e., a tree not transplanted, but growing on its native soil, and therefore luxuriantly. If the psalmist intended by this word to denote any particular tree, it may have been the evergreen bay laurel (Laurus nobilis), which is a native of Palestine. Instead of “like a green bay tree” in the Authorized Version, the Revised Version has, “like a green tree in its native soil.”
Smith's Bible Dictionary
A species of laurel. Laurus nobilis . An evergreen, with leaves like our mountain laurel. (Psalms 37:35)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>ba'-tre' (the King James Version only; Ps 37:35; 'ezrach): The word means "native," "indigenous," and the Revised Version (British and American) translations "a green tree in its native soil."</p>