JUNIPER (רֹ֫תֶם, H8413, broom[?]). Juniper is mentioned four times, twice in 1 Kings 19:4 (KJV) where Elijah sat down under the Juniper tree; once in Job 30:4, where in the wilderness, Juniper roots were dug up for food; and in Psalm 120:4 “sharp arrows, with coals of Juniper.”

The Heb. word rōtem is similar to the Arab. word retem. The Moorish word retama is given to a kind of Broom, Genista monosperma. (Synonyms— Retama monosperma or Spartium monospermum). Found in Pal. and Syria, it produces big shrubs with white flowers, which give good shade.

The root of this Broom makes excellent charcoal (RSV Ps 120:4). The roots are, however, poisonous. Job’s Juniper was prob. a parasite, Cynomorium proccineum, which grows on the roots of this Broom. It has a fleshy, edible toadstool texture, and because it was popular in Malta, it was called Fungus melitensis.