18:11-12)The term “wood” is rendered in Old Testament Hebrew as ets, which literally means “tree”. This term was translated into New Testament Greek as xylon, or “wood”, for whatever purpose (1 Corinthians 3:12; Revelation 18:12). Wood was reserved for feeding the fires of their sacrifices. The “citron wood”, or fragrant wood, referred to in Revelation 18:12 seems to have been some variation on the cypress species (known as “thuja wood” in ancient times, but belonging to the species now known to be Tetraclinis articulata), which is native to southern Spain, north Africa and the islands of Malta (where it is regarded as the national tree) and Cyprus. The wood gives off a pleasant smell and in ancient times was used for decorative purposes, to make tables or luxury items which sold for huge amounts of money.

Source: The North Africa Journal September 20, 2020 07:07 UTC