Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
FOR'EST. 1 Sam 22:5. 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.