ALLON O ; Sept. Btaapos ; Vulg. Quercus; Auth. Vers. OAK). The Hebrew word, thus pointed, as it occurs in Gen. xxxv. 8 ; Josh. xxiv. 26 ; Is. ii. 13 ; vi. 13 ; xliv. 14 ; Hos. iv. 13 ; Amos ii. 9 ; Zech. xi. 2, was understood by the ancient translators, and has been supposed by most interpreters, to denote the oak, and there is no reason to disturb this conclusion. In our version other words are also rendered by oak,' particularly Alah (4t4), which more probably denotes the terebinth-tree. [ALAII.] The oak is, in fact, less frequently mentioned in the original than in the A. V., where it occurs so often as to suggest that the oak is as conspicuous and as common in Palestine as in this country. But in Syria oaks are by no means common, except in hilly regions, where the elevation gives the effect of a more northern climate ; and even in such circumstances they do not attain the size in which they often appear in our latitudes. Indeed, Syria has not the species (Quercus robur) which forms the glory of our own forests. The oaks of Bashan' are in Scripture mentioned with peculiar distinction (Is. ii. 13 ; Ezek. xxvii. 6 ; Zech. xi. 2), as if in the hills beyond the Jordan the oaks had been more abundant and of larger growth than elsewhere. This is the case even at the present day. In the hilly regions of Bashan and Gilead, Burckhardt repeatedly mentions forests of thick oaks—thicker than any forests he had seen in Syria. He speaks gratefully of the shade thus afforded ; and doubtless it was the presence of oaks which imparted to the scenery that European character which he notices (Syria, 265, 348). On that side of the river a thick oak-forest occurs as far south as the vicinity of Amman, the capital of the Ammonites (p. 356). Oaks of low stature are frequent in the hills and plains near the sources of the Jordan (pp. 45, 312, 315) : and some of large dimensions are found in different parts of the country, beside the natural reservoirs of water fed by springs (pp. 193, 315). On the lower slopes of Lebanon low oak-trees are numerous, and the inhabitants employ their branches in the construc tion of the flat roofs of their dwellings (pp. 4, 7, 18, 193, 312, etc.) Next to Burckhardt, Lord Lindsay is the traveller who makes the most frequent mention of oaks in Palestine. He con firms their existing abundance in the countries of Bashan and Gilead. He calls them noble prickly oaks,' and evergreen oaks,' and notices a variety of the latter with a broader leaf than usual ( Travels, 122, 124, 127).
But oak-trees are by no means wanting on the west of the Jordan, in the proper Land of Canaan. Lord Lindsay describes the hills of southern Judxa about Hebron as covered to the top with low shrubs of the prickly oak. Fine park scenery,
composed chiefly of prickly and evergreen oaks, occurs between Samaria and Mount Carmel. The same trees abound on the southern prolongations of that mountain, and on the banks of the Kishon. The thick woods which cover Mount Tabor are composed chiefly of oaks and pistachio-trees ; and oaks are found in the valleys which trend from that mountain (Lindsay, ii. 51, 77, 85). Hassel. quist found groves of the Kermes oak (Q. Coccifinz) in the valleys beyond the plain of Acre, on the road to Nazareth (Travels, p. 153).
From the above and other notices we collect that the species of oak found in Palestine, and probably all comprehended under the word AL LON, are—I. The Evergreen Oak (Quercus ilex), which is met with not only in Western Asia, but in Northern Africa and Southern Europe. This is a tall but not wide-spreading tree ; and the timber, being very hard, is much used for purposes in which compactness and durability are required. 2. The Holly-leaved Montpelier Oak (Q. gm muntia), another evergreen, which may be inserted on the authority of Pococke. This tree also, as its name imports, is a native of Southern Europe, and is markedly distinguished from the former by its numerous straggling branches and the thick underdown of its leaves. 3. The Hairy-cupped Oak (Q. crinata), so called from the bristly ap pearance of the calyx. It grows to a considerable size, and furnishes an excellent timber, much used by the Turks in the building of ships and houses. But although this species exists in Syria, it is much more common in Asia Minor. 4. The Great Prickly-cupped Oak (Q. ./Egilops or Valonia), which takes its name from its large prickly calyx. This species is common in the Levant, where it is a handsome tree, which it is not in our ungenial climate, though it has long been cultivated. The wood of this species is of little worth ; but its acorns form the valonia of commerce, of which 150,000 cwt. are yearly imported into this country for the use of tanners. 5. The Kermes Oak (Q. coccifera) takes its name from an insect (kermes, of the genus coccus) which adheres to the branches of this bushy evergreen shrub, in the form of small reddish balls about the size of a pea. This affords a crimson dye, formerly celebrated, but now super seded by cochineal. This dye was used by the ancient Hebrews ; for the word r61n, which de notes a Worm, and particularly the kermes worm, denotes also the dye prepared from it (Is. i. 18 ; Lam. iv. 5), and is accordingly rendered xdrocwov in those passages where it occurs.