According to Donna Nielsen, Israelite prophets frequently used "trees" as symbols for the people because of their long lives, deep roots, and spreading branches. The roots represented ancestry and the branches typified posterity. To be cut off "root and branch" (Malachi 4:1 / 3 Nephi 25:1) was a horrifying image because it meant no familial ties or increase. [Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom: Finding Christ in Ancient Jewish Marriage and Family Customs, p. 102]