Bible Dictionary
BROOM
The broom tree was a desert shrub that offered little shade but could provide fuel and charcoal. Elijah sat beneath one while in the wilderness, and its roots or branches could be used in severe hardship.
Definition
The broom tree is a desert shrub identified with the Arab ratam. It gives little shade and would be used for refuge only when no better shelter was available. Its wood could be burned and used to make charcoal, while its roots or branches might be eaten only in extreme necessity.
Biblical Usage
Elijah sat beneath a broom tree in the wilderness. The shrub is also associated with hardship and desert conditions in Job and the Psalms.
Historical Background
The traditional rendering “juniper” is considered incorrect in the supplied material. The shrub’s sparse shade and usefulness as fuel fit its desert setting.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>broom: Occurs in 1Ki 19:4 m ("broomtree"); Job 30:4, and Ps 120:4 m as the translation of the Hebrew rothem, where the King James Version employed "juniper" which is retained in the Revised Version (British and American) text in 1Ki 19:4 and Job 30:4. Juniper is certainly incorrect and broom is not a particularly happy rendering. The rothem was doubtless the shrub called by the Arabs ratam, a shrub which casts so little shadow that it would be used for shade only when there was no other refuge from the desert sun, and would be eaten only in case of the direst necessity, but which could be burned and used for the making of charcoal.</p><p>See JUNIPER.</p><p>David Foster Estes</p>