Goodly Trees
Goodly Trees is the rendering of עֵוֹ הָדָר, ets hadar', tree of splendor, the fruit (פּדַי, "boughs") of which (Sept. καρπὸς ζύλου ώραῖος, Vulg. fructus arboris pulcherrimae), the Israelites were directed to take (i.e., carry about in festive procession) on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, in memory of their having dwelt in booths in the wilderness (Le 23:40). The tree generally conceded to be meant is the citron (Celsius, Hierobot. 1:252), the fruit of which Josephus states was that in the hands of the Jews on the day of the festival of the Scenopegia, when they pelted king Jannseus with it (Ant. 13:13, 5). SEE CITRON. Others regard the olive as meant, this being the tree mentioned in the parallel account of Ne 8:15. It would seem, however, that no specific tree is intended, but any one of sufficient size and beauty to be suitable to the occasion (Ursini Arboret. Bibl. page 577. SEE TREE.
