The Oak and the Thunder-God

Abstract

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Rituals, ceremonies and customs related to sacred trees with a special reference to the Middle East

“…According to Ruppert [[ 55 ]:143] "the sources of rain were conceived in various ways, most commonly as one form or another of deity, especially associated with the heavens or with creation in general". The tree is the abode of the sky/cloud/rain/thunder divinity who is "in charge" of rain [Ancient Greece, [ 58 ]:8.38.4; Pagan Europe, [ 59 ]: passim; [ 60 ]:31, 34–36; Uganda, [ 48 ]:59, Papua, [ 53 ]:388; Sudan, [ 50 ]:53; Central Africa, [ 49 ]:53–55; India, [ 51 ]:67; Zimbabwe, [ 46 ]:358,361]. Thus, it is not surprising that rainmaking ceremonies were carried out under the sacred trees (Table 1 ) as they are considered to be the abode of the supernatural beings which bring the rain.…”

“…Canaan [[ 19 ]: 75] mentioned that stones are placed in heaps at saints' shrines to show piety and as a visiting card. In India believers put stones under a sacred tree as part of a worship of a local deity that dwells in the tree [[ 103 ]:19] and in Korea as an offering [[ 60 ]:44]. Not one of our informants was able to explain why stones are left on or near sacred trees although stones on sacred trees are quite common (Table 2 ).…”

On the typology and the worship status of sacred trees with a special reference to the Middle East

“…Huge trees were objects of veneration and a manifestation of the Almighty [[ 23 ]:2; [ 73 ]:29]. The most famous "great tree" is the oak, which is the foremost tree in European mythologies and tree worship [ 75 ]; [ 76 ]:188–191; [ 77 ]:23]. In the words of Folkrad [[ 77 ]:21] "The Oak, the strongest of all trees, has been revered as the emblem of the Supreme Being by almost all the nations of heathendom" Porteous [[ 6 ]:150] explains why these trees were venerated: "As year after year passed with the same continual changefulness, trees, or perhaps one outstanding tree on account of its size and age, would come to be regarded with a special reverence, and primitive imagination would people it with all sorts of beings, such as Gods, Nymphs, and Demons".…”

The ethnobotany of Christ's Thorn Jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi) in Israel

“…The Christ's Thorn Jujube tree won unique honor because of a mention in the Qur'an; however, this species enjoys no special significance, botanical uniqueness, or exceptional size (compared with the great oak trees in Europe) which form the basis for tree worship in pagan Europe, including the Greek and Roman cultures) [ 93 , 94 ].…”