Firs and Cedars

Fir and cedar were among the materials for the temple (1 Kings 5:8, 10; 6:15), as well as Solomon’s other building projects (1 Kings 9:11). Elsewhere in Kings these trees refer to the great and mighty of the land, the ones that Assyria intends to cut down (2 Kings 19:23). The two uses are related: The temple forms the great trees of the land into a house for Yahweh, and it symbolizes the formation of the people, including the great and mighty, into a house of prayer for the nations.

The rejoicing of fir and cedar in Isaiah 14:8 thus should be taken as a symbol not only of the restoration of the people but also of the restoration of the temple. When Babel falls, the tree-lined temple will again resound with joy. Isaiah’s later vision of fir and cedar springing up in the desert also signifies temple restoration (41:19; 44:13; 60:13).