Baka refers to a type of tree — possibly the balsam, mulberry, or a tree that exudes a sap resembling tears, hence sometimes called the 'weeping tree.' The word is nearly identical to the root for weeping (bakah), creating a powerful wordplay. It appears in 2 Samuel 5:23-24 and 1 Chronicles 14:14-15 in the Valley of Baka, and the same root appears in Psalm 84:6 — 'the Valley of Weeping' (Emek haBaka).
The Valley of Baka in Psalm 84:6 is one of Scripture's most striking images: pilgrims passing through a barren valley of weeping transform it into a place of springs. What began as a landscape of sorrow becomes a source of refreshment. This is the pattern of godly suffering — tears become springs; wilderness becomes a watered garden. The baka tree, weeping sap like tears, becomes the emblem of sorrow transformed by covenant faithfulness into surprising blessing.