He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.
Description of the material out of which the idol is formed.
Cypress ( tirzah (H8645)) - from a Hebrew root (taaraz), to be hard; or possibly raazah (H7329). Not as Jerome, whom Gesenius follows, 'the holm-oak,' an evergreen abundant in Palestine. Compare Sir 24:13 ; Sir 50:10 . 'The evergreen cypress' of Linnoeus is a large coniferous tree common in Palestine; its wood fragrant, compact, and heavy. It does not rot, and was much used in statues of idols. It is the only tree that grows toward the top of Lebanon, and in that high altitude modifies its form so as to be like a small oak.
Which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest - literally, 'and he getteth strength to himself in the trees of the forest;' i:e., he layeth in great store of timber (Lowth). Or, 'chooseth,' as "thou madest strong for thyself;" i:e., hast chosen (Psalms 80:15; Psalms 80:17) (Gesenius). But the English version gives a good sense: "strengtheneth" - i:e., rears to maturity; a meaning suitable also to the context of Psalms 80:15; Psalms 80:17, where Israel is compared to a vine planted by Yahweh.
He planteth an ash - Hebrew, oren. The Septuagint and Vulgate understand a pine tree. Celsius says the Rabbis couple it with the berosch and arez, and think it the Arabian sanouber, a pine. He identifies it with a tree of Arabia Petrea, the aran, mentioned by Abul Fadli, as growing in low places, thorny, and with grape-like berries, black and sweet. The Hebrew oren is akin to the Arabic aran, to be slender and graceful
(W. Houghton, in Smith's 'Dictionary of the Bible')
And the rain doth nourish (it). Though the man planted the tree, yet he could not make it grow. In preparing to make an idol, he has to depend on the true God for rain from heaven (Jeremiah 14:22).