Acacia (Shittim Wood)

The shittah tree of the King James Version, whose timber is called shittim wood, is generally identified as the acacia, a hardy, thorny tree that thrives in the dry valleys of the Sinai desert. Its dense, durable wood was the main timber of the tabernacle: the ark of the covenant, the table of showbread, the altars, the carrying poles and the standing boards were all made of it, many overlaid with gold or brass. Desert wood became the framework of the place where God dwelt among his people. Isaiah promised that God would plant 'the shittah tree' in the wilderness as a sign of renewal.