Oror, the word thus rendered occurs in two or three places of Scripture, and has been variously translated, as tamarisk; tamarin, which is an Indian tree, the tamarind; retama, that is the broom; and also, as in the French and English versions, heath, which is perhaps the most incorrect of all, though Hasselquist mentions finding heath near Jericho, in Syria. As far as the context is concerned, some of these plants, as the retam and tamarisk, would answer very well; but the Arabic name arar, is applied to a totally-different plant, a species of juniper.
Several species of juniper are no doubt found in Syria and Palestine. Robinson met with some in proceeding from Hebron to Wady Musa, near the romantic pass of Nemela: 'On the rocks above we found the juniper tree, Arabic ar'ar; its berries have the appearance and taste of the common juniper, except that there is more of the aroma of the pine. These trees were ten or fifteen feet in height, and hung upon the rocks even to the summits of the cliffs and needles.' In a note the author says: 'This is doubtless the Hebrew aroer(); whence both the English version and Luther read incorrectly heath' (Bibl. Researches, ii. 506). In proceeding S.E. he states: 'Large trees of the juniper become quite common in the Wadys and on the rocks.' It is mentioned in the same situations by other travelers, and is no doubt common enough, particularly in wild, uncultivated, and often inaccessible situations, and is thus suitable to : 'Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath (oror) in the wilderness.'
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John Kitto was an English biblical scholar of Cornish descent.Born in Plymouth, John Kitto was a sickly child, son of a Cornish stonemason. The drunkenness of his father and the poverty of his family meant that much of his childhood was spent in the workhouse. He had no more than three years of erratic and interrupted education. At the age of twelve John Kitto fell on his head from a rooftop, and became totally and permanently deaf. As a young man he suffered further tragedies, disappointments and much loneliness. His height was 4 ft 8 in, and his accident left him with an impaired sense of balance. He found consolation in browsing at bookstalls and reading any books that came his way.
From these hardships he was rescued by friends who became aware of his mental abilities and encouraged him to write topical articles for local newspapers, arranging eventually for him to work as an assistant in a local library. Here he continued to educate himself.
One of his benefactors was the Exeter dentist Anthony Norris Groves, who in 1824 offered him employment as a dental assistant. Living with the Groves family, Kitto was profoundly influenced by the practical Christian faith of his employer. In 1829 he accompanied Groves on his pioneering mission to Baghdad and served as tutor to Groves's two sons. In 1833 Kitto returned to England via Constantinople, accompanied by another member of the Groves mission, Francis William Newman. Shortly afterwards he married, and in due course had several children.
A London publisher asked Kitto to write up his travel journals for a series of articles in the Penny Magazine, a publication read at that time by a million people in Britain, reprinted in America and translated into French, German and Dutch. Other writing projects followed as readers enquired about his experiences in the East amidst people living in circumstances closely resembling those of Bible times.
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