Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
FOR'EST. 1 Sam 22:5. Several tracts of country were designated in this way; as, "the forest of Hareth," that of "Ephraim," "the wood of Ziph," etc. It is known that in the tenth century a.d. there was a fir-wood between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Not a trace of these forests remains. One of the chief causes of the present desolation of the Holy Land is the disappearance of forests. The "house of the forest of Lebanon," which was built by Solomon,
and which was magnificent in size and style, 1 Kgs 7:2, was so called probably from the great quantity of cedar which was used in the construction of it.