Isaiah 41:19 - Exposition

I will plant in the wilderness the cedar , etc. The "glory of Lebanon," the "excellency of Carmel and Sharon" ( Isaiah 35:2 ), shall be given to the "wilderness," wherein Israel dwells. The trees named are the choicest of Syria and Palestine, viz. the cedar ( erez ) . the great glory of Libanus; the acacia ( shittah ), abundant in the Jordan valley; the myrtle ( hadas ), which grew on the hills about Jerusalem ( Nehemiah 8:15 ); the olive, cultivated over the whole country; the fir ( berosh ), or juniper. a product of Lebanon ( 2 Chronicles 2:8 ); the plane ( tidhar ), a tree far from uncommon in Coele-syria, sometimes growing to a great size; and the sherbin ( teasshur ), a sort of cedar, remarkable for the upward tendency of its branches. The list of names shows a writer familiar with the Palestinian region, but not familiar with Babylonia.