broom
re.tem denotes a plant found as a tree for shelter and associated with roots and coals in the cited verses.
The attested noun denotes a plant: it is a tree under which a man sits and sleeps in 1 Kings 19:4 and 1 Kings 19:5, while its roots and coals occur in the clauses of Job 30:4 and Psalm 120:4.
Senses in use
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A plant used as a tree, for roots, and for coals · dominant
In 1 Kings 19:4 and 1 Kings 19:5, the singular noun occurs in the clauses where he sits and sleeps under the tree; the APB renders it “a broom tree.” In Job 30:4 the plural occurs in the phrase about its root being food, and in Psalm 120:4 in the phrase about its coals; the APB renders these as “the root of broom” and “coals of broom.”
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the singular occurrences as “a broom tree” and the plural occurrences in the phrases “the root of broom” and “coals of broom.” These renderings confirm the clauses rather than establish finer distinctions.