Metaphysical meaning of Berothai (mbd)
Berothai, ber'-o-thai (Heb.)--wells;
A city of Hadadezer, king of Zobah, that was conquered by David (II Sam. 8:8). The Berothah of Ezekiel 47:16 is supposed to be the same city. Zobah was the portion of Syria that formed a separate empire at the time of David and Solomon.
Meta. Fallows says concerning the cypress, "It may have been the Syrian juniper, which grows wild upon Lebanon." This "tree . . . is a tall evergreen, the wood of which is heavy, aromatic, and remarkably durable . . . Coffins were made of it in the East, and the mummy-cases of Egypt are found at this day of the cypress-wood. The timber has been known to suffer no decay by the lapse of 1100 years." The cypress therefore would stand for the changeless substance of Spirit. Wells always refer to contact with the wellspring of life within man; and the cypresses of Jah symbolize enduring spiritual substance. Berothai must represent this life and substance in our organism. That this city belonged to the Syrians indicates that the inner life and substance was under the dominion of the intellect, apart from any true understanding; in that situation it would be looked upon as limited and transitory, and would manifest accordingly. But when taken over by David, who stands for love in individual consciousness and is a type of Christ, this inner life and substance that Berothai signifies becomes in us manifestly what it really is in Truth: spiritual, abiding, and unlimited.
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Preceding Entry: Beroea
Following Entry: Besai
