{
  "id": "dict_006058",
  "term": "Wood",
  "slug": "wood",
  "letter": "W",
  "entry_type": "biblical_material",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "Wood is a common biblical material used for construction, fuel, tools, idols, and symbolic imagery. Its significance depends on context rather than on one fixed theological meaning.",
  "simple_one_line": "Wood is a common Bible material whose meaning depends on how it is used.",
  "tooltip_text": "Ordinary biblical timber or wooden material; sometimes literal, sometimes symbolic, always context-dependent.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Acacia",
    "Acacia wood",
    "Idolatry",
    "Idols",
    "Tree",
    "Tabernacle",
    "Temple",
    "Carpenters"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Creation",
    "Craftsmanship",
    "Fire",
    "Cross",
    "Image",
    "Worship"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Wood is an ordinary but important biblical material. Scripture mentions it in everyday life, worship settings, craftsmanship, and idolatry, and in some passages it becomes part of symbolic language.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "A common biblical material used for building, burning, carving, and making objects of worship or misuse.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Used for practical purposes such as construction and fuel",
    "can refer to timber, a wooden object, or a tree depending on context",
    "appears in both holy and sinful settings",
    "should not be given a fixed theological meaning beyond the passage at hand."
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "In Scripture, wood is usually an ordinary material rather than a technical theological term. It appears in practical contexts such as building, craftsmanship, transport, fuel, and household use, while also appearing in spiritually significant scenes such as idol-making and figurative language. Because the term is broad, its meaning must be determined by immediate context.",
  "description_academic_full": "In the Bible, wood is primarily an everyday material rather than a distinct doctrinal concept. Scripture refers to it in practical settings such as construction, craftsmanship, sacrifice, transport, and fuel, and also uses it in spiritually significant ways, including the making of idols and figurative descriptions of what is temporary, weak, or subject to testing. In some passages the word may refer to timber, a wooden object, or even a tree, depending on the language and context. The material itself does not carry one fixed theological meaning across Scripture, so interpretation must follow the specific passage rather than assume a universal symbol.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Wood appears throughout biblical life because it was needed for houses, furniture, utensils, weapons, altars, and fire. In sacred contexts it was used for tabernacle and temple materials, while in sinful contexts it could be fashioned into idols. The Bible therefore treats wood as a real material that can serve either righteous or unrighteous purposes.",
  "background_historical_context": "In the ancient world, wood was a basic building resource, though quality timber could be limited and sometimes imported for major projects. Carpenters, builders, and craftsmen relied on it for tools, vessels, and structures. Its ordinary use made it especially suitable for biblical illustrations drawn from everyday life.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "In ancient Israel and the wider Near East, wood was part of common domestic and religious life. It could be cut, carved, burned, or shaped into useful objects, and the prophets often condemned the irony of worshiping something made by human hands from the same material used for ordinary labor.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Exodus 25-27",
    "Deuteronomy 4:28",
    "Isaiah 44:13-20"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Genesis 6:14",
    "1 Corinthians 3:12-15"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "Hebrew often uses words such as ʿēṣ for wood or tree depending on context; Greek xylon can also mean wood, tree, or wooden object. Translation must therefore follow context rather than assume a single nuance.",
  "theological_significance": "Wood has no inherent holiness or moral quality, but it becomes the setting for important biblical themes: obedience in building according to God’s instruction, the folly of idolatry, and the use of ordinary material things in God’s purposes. Its significance is derived from the passage, not from the material itself.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "Wood illustrates a broader biblical principle: created material things are morally neutral in themselves and become meaningful through their use. The same substance can be shaped for worship, work, or rebellion, showing that the heart and the purpose behind the act matter more than the material alone.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not read every mention of wood as symbolically loaded. In some passages it is simply timber; in others it may refer to a tree or a wooden object. Avoid turning a practical material into a universal theological code.",
  "major_views_note": "Most interpreters treat wood as a contextual material term rather than a doctrinal category. Some passages invite symbolic reflection, but responsible interpretation keeps the symbol subordinate to the passage’s own meaning.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "Scripture does not teach that wood itself is sacred or defiling. Its significance depends on context, use, and relation to worship, obedience, or idolatry.",
  "practical_significance": "The biblical use of wood encourages wise stewardship of ordinary resources, care in worship, and vigilance against making created things into idols. It also reminds readers that God commonly uses common materials for important purposes.",
  "meta_description": "Wood in the Bible: an ordinary material used for construction, fuel, idols, and symbolic imagery, with meaning determined by context.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/wood/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/wood.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}