Bible Dictionary
Cypress
The cypress is probably the hard, fragrant evergreen tree referred to in Isaiah 44:14, though the exact identification is uncertain. It was associated with durable wood and, in the East, with funerals.
Definition
Cypress is the probable rendering of a Hebrew word found only in Isaiah 44:14, though the identification is uncertain. The word certainly points to a tree with hard wood.
Biblical Usage
Isaiah mentions the tree in describing wood selected for human use and for making an idol.
Historical Background
The cypress is evergreen, hard, fragrant, and durable, with dark foliage. It grows on Hermon and was used in the East as a funereal tree.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Heb. tirzah, “hardness”), mentioned only in Isa. 44:14 (R.V., “holm tree”). The oldest Latin version translates this word by ilex, i.e., the evergreen oak, which may possibly have been the tree intended; but there is great probability that our Authorized Version is correct in rendering it “cypress.” This tree grows abundantly on the mountains of Hermon. Its wood is hard and fragrant, and very durable. Its foliage is dark and gloomy. It is an evergreen (Cupressus sempervirens). “Throughout the East it is used as a funereal tree; and its dark, tall, waving plumes render it peculiarly appropriate among the tombs.”
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(Heb. tirzah). The Hebrew word is found only in (Isaiah 44:14) We are quite unable to assign any definite rendering to it. The true cypress is a native of the Taurus. The Hebrew word points to some tree with a hard grain, and this is all that can be positively said of it.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>si'-pres.</p><p>See HOLM-TREE.</p>