Hebrew: Shittah שִׁטָּה or shittim (plural) שִׁטִּים
Natural value: Used for the furniture pieces, boards, poles, border poles around the outer court
Spiritual value: incorruptible flesh / the flesh (body) of Yeshua
Man, and the fleshly aspect of man, is likened to a tree and wood in the Bible. Mankind and being on earth in the flesh is likened unto trees. Acacia wood is a very specific kind of wood and there are many reasons as to why this specific wood is used in the tabernacle. The word shittim (acacia) comes from the word shotet, which means to be whipped or scourged and the markings remain. Acacia wood looks like scourged wood and you’ll see darker and lighter stripes on it. It represents that which Yeshua had to go through in the flesh. Acacia wood is very hard and incorruptible, meaning that it doesn’t rot. Yeshua came in the incorruptible flesh, which means that He did not sin and because of that, He became our Messiah. Which of the hundreds of different species of acacia was used in building the tabernacle? Probably not trees that were chopped down in Israel, because the branches of the acacia types found in Israel were very crooked and not straight. The Israelites probably brought the wood with them from Egypt as ready-made boards. In central Africa the acacia trees grow very tall and straight. Also: if they had taken the wood from the trees in the desert, they would have had to wait for them to dry and this is yet another reason which makes it plausible, that they brought the wood with them from Egypt.
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