Editing Teil tree

The [[OED|Oxford English Dictionary]] gives the etymology of teil as Latin ''tilia'' and Old French (13th to 15th centuries) ''til''. In Modern French it is ''tilleul''. The French and Latin word cognates appeared amongst the English literate classes starting in the 14th century. Most names of trees, however, kept their Germanic origins, hence linden and lime (a deformation of lind according to the OED). The linden or til tree is native to northern Europe and Asia. In various versions of [[Protestant]] [[Bible]]s{{which|date=March 2024}} the til is sometimes confused with the [[terebinth]],{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} which is a tree native to southern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. One variety of terebinth furnishes the [[pistacia|pistachio]] nut and the thick bark of the tree is a source of a highly valued varnish and particular turpentine (Modern French, térébenthine). The English and French translations in the [[Roman Catholic]] [[Douay–Rheims Bible|Douay]] Bible from the [[Vulgate]] do not confuse the two trees.{{clarify|date=March 2024}}

The [[Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)]] says that '''Teil tree''' is an old name for the linden tree, the [[tilia]] (also known as "lime tree" in the UK).

The name was used in the [[King James Version of the Bible]] for the Hebrew word "elah", a word that more modern translations translate as "[[terebinth]]" or "[[oak]]" – this seems to be the chief source of Web references to the name, but the linden tree does not grow in the Middle East in present-day where the Bible verses are describing now. The translators of this version may have used "teil tree" rather than "linden" as an intention to distinguish this Middle Eastern tree (identified as a [[pistachio|pistachio tree]] by [[State of Israel|Israeli]] [[philology|philologist]] Avi Gold) from the similar European linden tree.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 September 2020 |title=Teil Tree |url=https://www.purecambridgetext.com/post/teil-tree}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* [http://www.christnotes.org/dictionary.php?dict=ebd&id=3597 Easton's Bible dictionary entry]

"Teil Tree " is mentioned only in the book of Isaiah.

{{bibleverse|Isaiah|6:13|KJV}}  "But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a Teil Tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof."

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20020123175410/http://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/plant_profile.cgi?symbol=PISTA USDA page for Pistacia]
* [http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/natbltn/600-699/nb676.htm 1962 article on trees of the Bible]

[[Category:Trees]]
[[Category:Plant common names]]
[[Category:Plants in the Bible]]