MOREH, OAK OF (Heb. אֵלֹ֣ון מﯴרֶ֑ה; KJV incorrectly: “Plain of Moreh”), mentioned in Genesis 12:6 as a place near Shechem where Abraham camped on arriving in Canaan from Haran. There God revealed Himself to Abraham with the promise to give Canaan to his descendants, whereupon Abraham responded by building his first altar to the Lord in Canaan. The name “Oak” or “Terebinth of Moreh,” may also be tr. “the teacher’s” or “the Diviners’ Oak.” It must have been a “holy” tree, and the place an old Canaanite sanctuary. Although it is difficult to understand Abraham’s motives for visiting this place, there is no reason to suggest that Abraham recognized the sacred character of the place, and willfully adapted himself to it. The reference to the Oak of Moreh merely serves to indicate the place where Abraham camped, and built his own altar.

The “Diviners’ Oak” (Judg 9:37) may refer to the same place. Simons, however, questions the identity (Geographical..., p. 212, note 194.) It is, however, uncertain whether the allusions to “the oak” in Genesis 35:4 and Judges 9:6 are related to the place mentioned in Genesis 12:6.

Bibliography D. Baly, The Geography of the Bible, (1957); J. Simons, Geographical and Topographical Texts of the Old Testament (1959).