Trees are pretty epic. Take for example the ‘Cedars of God’. This refers to cedar trees in the mountains of northern Lebanon. They are actually mentioned in the Bible 75 times. The ancient Egyptians even used the resin from cedar trees in the mummification process. Herodotus (484 –425 BC) and later Pliny the Elder (AD 23/24–79) had claimed that they did but this had been contested by many. It took just 2,000 years to prove that the pharaohs had indeed used cedar oil as the ideal embalming fluid just as Pliny and Herodotus had claimed. Scientists from Munich and Tübingen reported in Nature in 2003 that they had analysed embalming material from 1500 BC, found at Deir-el-Bahari in Egypt and cedar oil was the choice of embalming fluid.
These Lebanese cedar trees are particularly aromatic and very resistant to decay and bugs. King David (roughly 1010-970 BC) used cedarwood in building his palace. (2 Samuel 5:11)
King Solomon (970–931 BC), the tenth son of King David, also used the Lebanon cedar trees in the construction of the first temple in Jerusalem. In fact, even the altar within the temple which supported the Ark of the Covenant was reported to be made of this cedarwood.
"Behold, I will liken you to a cedar in Lebanon, with fair branches and forest shade"
(Ezekiel 31:3)
It occurs most abundantly at altitudes of 1,300 to 3,000 m and is even used in medicine. Cedarwood oil has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. Hebrew priests were ordered by Moses (roughly 1391 BC - 1271 BC) to use the bark of the Lebanon cedar in the treatment of leprosy. Leviticus 14:1–4
Isaiah, born in the 8th century BC, the Hebrew prophet used the Lebanon cedar as a metaphor for the pride of the world, with the tree explicitly mentioned as a symbol of the righteous.
“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon”
This area of Lebanon, high in the mountains, used to be covered in a vast forest of cedar trees but the trees of Lebanon have suffered a period of destruction that pains the heart and is recorded in the journals of travellers over the years.
Pierre Belon visited the area in 1550, making him the first modern traveller to identify the Cedars of God in his ‘’ Observations’’. He counted 28 trees and wrote
“At a considerable height up the mountains the traveller arrives at the Monastery of the Virgin Mary, which is situated in the valley. Thence proceeding four miles up the mountain, he will arrive at the cedars, the Maronites or the monks acting as guides. The cedars stand in a valley, and not on top of the mountain, and they are supposed to amount to 28 in number.."
Leonhard Rauwolf followed in 1573-75, could only find 24 trees:
Jean de Thévenot counted 23 trees in 1655
Laurent d'Arvieux in 1660 counted 20 trees
Henry Maundrell in 1697 counted 16 trees of the “very old” type
Given this quick and steady decimation concern for the protection of the biblical "cedars of God" grew and in 1876, the 102-hectare (250-acre) grove was surrounded by a high stone wall, paid for by Queen Victoria, to protect saplings from browsing by goats. However, this did not stop the British using the cedars in building railways.
In the Sumerian versions of the Epic of Gilgamesh (1800 BC) the earliest surviving great work of literature and the second oldest religious text, after the Pyramid Texts, the hero in the poem cuts down the cedars of Lebanon. Strange that this piece of famous literature had 3500 years previously hinted at the destruction that would take place here!
Fortunately, the "Committee of the Friends of the Cedar Forest" initiated a reforestation program in 1985. These efforts will take decades due to the slow growth of cedars. It is hoped these historical trees will be allowed to multiple and hopefully enthrall many future generations with their splendid snowy coverings high in the mountains. They have so far planted 40,000 cedar trees so things are looking hopeful. Something so beautiful that has been treasured for so long, by so many surely deserves to be preserved.
"Regard thou faith as a tree. Its fruits, leaves, boughs and branches are, and have ever been, trustworthiness, truthfulness, uprightness and forbearance."
Baháʼí Writings
PS apologies for dates as there is a wide discrepancy in accepted dates given - but they give a ballpark figure which for me is valuable.
PPS not at all recommending cedar oil for leprosy. But in old days being able to slap on something that would reduce inflammation/bacteria for seven days probably meant a lot that would have been considered unclean/lepers were given the all-clear and allowed to rejoin their family and community.
Interesting
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