Hebrew word · Strong's H6086

עֵץ

ʻêts · ates · noun · “tree, wood”

In a sentence

ʿEts means tree or wood — from the tree of life in Eden, through the trees of Israel’s wisdom and song, to the cross of Christ, on which our curse was borne.

ʿEts covers trees, wood, and anything wooden. The Bible’s story uses it for crucial markers: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Eden; the wood that bore the Passover lamb’s blood.

Deuteronomy 21:23 said anyone hung on a tree was cursed. The New Testament uses exactly that word when it speaks of Jesus, who “bore our sins in his body on the tree” — taking the curse so that we might receive the blessing.

Strong's reference

Definition: a tree (from its firmness); hence, wood (plural sticks)

KJV usage: [phrase] carpenter, gallows, helve, [phrase] pine, plank, staff, stalk, stick, stock, timber, tree, wood.

Reference gloss from Strong's Concordance (1890, public domain).

Key verses BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

Genesis 2:9 “Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Psalms 1:3 “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.” 1 Peter 2:24 “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.””

Original BibleDawn word study. Original-language data and the public-domain Strong's (1890) gloss are referenced; see sources.