- OIL-TREE (Isaiah 41:19; R.V. marg., “oleaster”), Hebrews ‘etz shemen,
rendered “olive tree” in 1 Kings 6:23, 31, 32, 33 (R.V., “olive wood”) and
“pine branches” in Nehemiah 8:15 (R.V., “branches of wild olive”), was
some tree distinct from the olive. It was probably the oleaster (Eleagnus
angustifolius), which grows abundantly in almost all parts of Palestine,
especially about Hebron and Samaria. “It has a fine hard wood,” says
Tristram, “and yields an inferior oil, but it has no relationship to the olive,
which, however, it resembles in general appearance.” - OINTMENT Various fragrant preparations, also compounds for medical
purposes, are so called (Exodus 30:25; Psalm 133:2; Isaiah 1:6; Amos 6:6;
John 12:3; Revelation 18:13). - OLD GATE one of the gates in the north wall of Jerusalem, so called
because built by the Jebusites (Nehemiah 3:6; 12:39). - OLIVE the fruit of the olive-tree. This tree yielded oil which was highly
valued. The best oil was from olives that were plucked before being fully
ripe, and then beaten or squeezed (Deuteronomy 24:20; Isaiah 17:6;
24:13). It was called “beaten,” or “fresh oil” (Exodus 27:20). There were
also oil-presses, in which the oil was trodden out by the feet (Micah 6:15).
James (3:12) calls the fruit “olive berries.” The phrase “vineyards and
olives” (Judges 15:5, A.V.) should be simply “olive-yard,” or
“olive-garden,” as in the Revised Version. (See OIL.) - OLIVE-TREE is frequently mentioned in Scripture. The dove from the ark
brought an olive-branch to Noah (Genesis 8:11). It is mentioned among the
most notable trees of Palestine, where it was cultivated long before the
time of the Hebrews (Deuteronomy 6:11; 8:8). It is mentioned in the first
Old Testament parable, that of Jotham (Judges 9:9), and is named among
the blessings of the “good land,” and is at the present day the one
characteristic tree of Palestine. The oldest olive-trees in the country are
those which are enclosed in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is referred to as
an emblem of prosperity and beauty and religious privilege (Psalm 52:8;
Jeremiah 11:16; Hos. 14:6). The two “witnesses” mentioned in Revelation
11:4 are spoken of as “two olive trees standing before the God of the
earth.” (Comp. Zechariah 4:3, 11-14.)
The “olive-tree, wild by nature” (Romans 11:24), is the shoot or cutting of
the good olive-tree which, left ungrafted, grows up to be a “wild olive.” In
Romans 11:17 Paul refers to the practice of grafting shoots of the wild