Reference: Fig
American
The fig tree is common in Palestine and the East, and flourishes with the greatest luxuriance in those barren and stony situations where little else will grow. Its large size, and its abundance of five-lobed leaves, render it a pleasant shade tree; and its fruit furnished a wholesome food, very much used in all the lands of the Bible. Thus it was a symbol of peace and plenty, 1Ki 4:25; Mic 4:4; Zec 3:10; Joh 1:49-51. Figs are of two sorts, the "baccore," and the "kermouse." The black and white boccore, or early fig, is produced in June; thought the kermouse, the fig properly so called, which is preserved, and made up into cakes, is rarely ripe before August. There is also a long dark-colored kermouse, that sometimes hangs upon the trees all winter.
The fruit of the fig tree is one of the delicacies of the East, and is very often spoken of in Scripture. The early fig was especially prized, Isa 28:4; Jer 24:2; Na 3:12, though the summer fig is most abundant, 2Ki 20:7; Isa 38:21. It is a peculiarity of the fig tree that its fruit begins to appear before the leaves, and without any show of blossoms. It has, indeed, small and hidden blossoms, but the passage in Hab 3:17, should read, according to the original Hebrew, "Although the fig tree should not bear," instead of "blossom." Its leaves come so late in the spring as to justify the words of Christ, "Ye know that summer is nigh," Mt 24:32; Song 2:13. The fresh fruit is shaped like a pear. The dried figs of Palestine were probably like those which are brought to our own country; sometimes, however, they are dried on a string. We likewise read of "cakes of figs," 1Sa 25:18; 2Ki 20:7; 1Ch 12:40. These were probably formed by pressing the fruit forcibly into baskets or other vessels, so as to reduce them to a solid cake or lump. In this way dates are still prepared in Arabia.
The barren fig tree which was withered at our Savior's word, as an awful warning to unfruitful professors of religion, seems to have spent itself in leaves. It stood by the wayside, free to all; and as the time for stripping the trees of their fruit had not come, Mr 11:14, it was reasonable to expect to find it covered with figs in various stages of growth. Yet there was "nothing thereon, but leaves only," Mt 21:19.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Abigail will hasten and take two hundred of bread, and two flasks of wine, and five sheep done, and five measures of parched grain, and a hundred clusters of dried grapes, and two hundred cakes of figs, and put upon asses.
And Judah dwelt, and Israel, with confidence, a man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan and even to the Well of the Oath, all the days of Solomon.
And Isaiah will say, Take a round mass of figs. And they will take and put upon the burning sore, and he will live.
The fig tree ripened its unripe figs, and the vines are in blossom; they gave an odor. Rise up, my friend, my beautiful one, and go for thyself.
And the flower falling away was the glory of his beauty which is upon the head of the valley of fatness, as the first-fruits before fruit harvest which he looking at it shall see, in its continuing in his hand he will swallow it up.
And Isaiah will say, They shall lift up round cakes of figs, and rub over the burning sore, and he shall live.
One basket of figs exceedingly good as the figs first ripe, and the one basket of figs exceedingly evil, which shall not be eaten from being evil.
And they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none terrifying: for the mouth of Jehovah of armies spake.
All thy fortresses, fig trees with the early figs: if they shall be shaken, and they fell into the mouth of him eating
If the fig tree shall not blossom, and no produce in the vines; the work of the olive failed, and the fields made not food; and the sheep being cut off from the fold, and no oxen in the stalls.
In that day, says Jehovah of armies, ye shall call each his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree.
And having seen one fig tree by the way, he came to it, and found nothing on it, except leaves only; and he says to it, Let no more fruit be from thee forever. And instantly the fig tree was dried up.
And from the fig tree learn a parable; When already her young shoot should be tender, and the leaves should spring forth, ye know that summer is near:
And Jesus having answered, said to it, May none eat more fruit of thee forever. And his disciples heard.
Nathanael answers and says to him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said to him, Because I said to thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou thou shalt see greater than these. read more. And he says to him, Amen, amen, I say to you, From henceforth shall ye see heaven opened, and the messengers of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
Easton
First mentioned in Ge 3:7. The fig-tree is mentioned (De 8:8) as one of the valuable products of Palestine. It was a sign of peace and prosperity (1Ki 4:25; Mic 4:4; Zec 3:10). Figs were used medicinally (2Ki 20:7), and pressed together and formed into "cakes" as articles of diet (1Sa 30:12; Jer 24:2).
Illustration: Branch of Fig-Tree
Our Lord's cursing the fig-tree near Bethany (Mr 11:13) has occasioned much perplexity from the circumstance, as mentioned by the evangelist, that "the time of figs was not yet." The explanation of the words, however, lies in the simple fact that the fruit of the fig-tree appears before the leaves, and hence that if the tree produced leaves it ought also to have had fruit. It ought to have had fruit if it had been true to its "pretensions," in showing its leaves at this particular season. "This tree, so to speak, vaunted itself to be in advance of all the other trees, challenged the passer-by that he should come and refresh himself with its fruit. Yet when the Lord accepted its challenge and drew near, it proved to be but as the others, without fruit as they; for indeed, as the evangelist observes, the time of figs had not yet arrived. Its fault, if one may use the word, lay in its pretensions, in its making a show to run before the rest when it did not so indeed" (Trench, Miracles).
The fig-tree of Palestine (Ficus carica) produces two and sometimes three crops of figs in a year, (1) the bikkurah, or "early-ripe fig" (Mic 7:1; Isa 28:4; Ho 9:10, R.V.), which is ripe about the end of June, dropping off as soon as it is ripe (Na 3:12); (2) the kermus, or "summer fig," then begins to be formed, and is ripe about August; and (3) the pag (plural "green figs," Song 2:13; Gr. olynthos, Re 6:13, "the untimely fig"), or "winter fig," which ripens in sheltered spots in spring.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And the eyes of the two shall be opened, and they shall know that they are naked; and they shall sew together the leaves of the fig tree, and shall make to themselves girdles.
A land of wheat and barley and the vine and the fig tree and the pomegranate, a land of the olive tree, of oil and honey;
And they will give to him a piece of a cake of dried figs and two bunches of dried grapes: and he will eat and his spirit will turn back to him, for he ate not bread and drank not water three days and three nights.
And Judah dwelt, and Israel, with confidence, a man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan and even to the Well of the Oath, all the days of Solomon.
And Isaiah will say, Take a round mass of figs. And they will take and put upon the burning sore, and he will live.
The fig tree ripened its unripe figs, and the vines are in blossom; they gave an odor. Rise up, my friend, my beautiful one, and go for thyself.
And the flower falling away was the glory of his beauty which is upon the head of the valley of fatness, as the first-fruits before fruit harvest which he looking at it shall see, in its continuing in his hand he will swallow it up.
One basket of figs exceedingly good as the figs first ripe, and the one basket of figs exceedingly evil, which shall not be eaten from being evil.
I found Israel as grapes in the desert; as the first fruit in the fig-tree in her beginning I saw your fathers: they went to Baal-Peor, and they will separate themselves to shame, and their abominable things will be according to their love.
And they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none terrifying: for the mouth of Jehovah of armies spake.
Wo to me! for I was as the gatherings of the fruit harvest, as the gleanings of the vintage, no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fig.
All thy fortresses, fig trees with the early figs: if they shall be shaken, and they fell into the mouth of him eating
In that day, says Jehovah of armies, ye shall call each his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree.
And having seen a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if yet he shall find any thing upon it; and having come to it, he found nothing except leaves; for it was not time of the figs.
And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts her untimely figs, shaken by a great wind.
Fausets
tenah, from ta'an "to stretch out" its branches. The Ficus Carica (Carla being famed for figs) of Linnaeus. Under its appropriate covert Nathanael found that solitude and shade which suited his earnest communion with God (Joh 1:48). Adam and Eve used its leaves to cover their shame and nakedness; Nathanael to lay bore his soul "without guile" before God. Mount Olivet is still famed for its figtrees as of old. "To sit under one's own vine and figtree" was the proverb for peace and prosperity; so under Solomon (1Ki 4:25); type of the true Solomon, Prince of peace, and of His coming millennial reign (Mic 4:4; Zec 3:10); men will be safe in the open field as in the house. The early ripe fig is "the hasty fruit" (Isa 28:4), Hebrew bikurah, Spanish bokkore. Figs usually ripened in August; earlier ones in June.
Esteemed a delicacy (Jer 24:2; Ho 9:10; Mic 7:1): "when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand, he eateth it up"; it looks so tempting he instantly swallows it; so the Assyrian conqueror Shalmaneser shall not merely conquer, but with impatient avidity destroy Samaria. The unripe fig (pag) hangs through the winter and ripens in the spring about Easter (Song 2:13). Beth-phage, "house of green figs," is derived from it. Figs were compressed into the form of round cakes for keeping (1Sa 25:18), debeelim. They were used as a plaster for boils (Isa 38:21); God can make the most ordinary means effectual. The difficulty in Mr 11:12 is solved thus: the leaves on the "one" figtree, when all others were bore, caught Jesus' eye "afar off"; as the fruit precedes the leaves, naturally He might have expected, for satisfying His hunger, figs from a tree with such a precocious show of leaf, even though the season of figs was not yet come.
It was the unseasonable display of leaves which led Him to come and see "if haply (if as might naturally be expected) He might find anything thereon." Similarly the Jews (for it was an acted parable) had the show of religion before the. general time of religious privileges; but that was all, the fruit of real love which ought to precede the profession was wanting. The "for" expresses the unseasonableness of the leaves. "He found nothing but leaves (i.e. He found no figs); FOR the time of figs was not yet." Mark states why no fruit was found, "for," etc. The reason why it ought to have had fruit is left for us to infer, namely, its abnormal precocious leaves, which Christ had a right to expect would be accompanied with abnormal fruit, for the fig fruit precedes the leaf. Christ cursed it, not because it was fruitless, (for the season of figs was not yet, and if it had been leafless He would not have sought fruit on it,) but because it was false to its high pretensions.
Thomson (The Land and the Book) says that in a sheltered spot figs of an early kind may occasionally be found ripe as soon as the beginning of April, the time of Christ's cursing the fig tree. In Mt 21:19 it is "one fig tree," standing out an exception to all the rest. The Jews' sin was, they were singled out by God from all nations (Am 3:2), and had the Tower to bring forth the leaves of precocious profession but not the will to bring forth the fruit of faith and love. The sheltering hillside of Olivet had protected it, the sunlight had cherished it, and the dews of heaven watered it; but precocious leaves were the only result.
Compare Isaiah 5 as to God's care of Israel; the only result was not merely unfruitfulness but deceptiveness, "the rustling leaves of a religious profession, barren traditions of the Pharisees, and vain exuberance of words without the good fruit of works" (Wordsworth); ostentatious promise of antedating the Gentile church in fruit, without performance; pretentious show and hypocrisy. Fig trees overhanging the road from Jerusalem to Bethany still grow out of the rocks of the mountain which, the Lord said, faith could remove to the distant sea (Mt 21:21). On Olivet too was spoken the parable of the budding fig tree, the sign of coming summer (Lu 21:29-30). The August figs are the sweetest and best.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Abigail will hasten and take two hundred of bread, and two flasks of wine, and five sheep done, and five measures of parched grain, and a hundred clusters of dried grapes, and two hundred cakes of figs, and put upon asses.
And Judah dwelt, and Israel, with confidence, a man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan and even to the Well of the Oath, all the days of Solomon.
The fig tree ripened its unripe figs, and the vines are in blossom; they gave an odor. Rise up, my friend, my beautiful one, and go for thyself.
And the flower falling away was the glory of his beauty which is upon the head of the valley of fatness, as the first-fruits before fruit harvest which he looking at it shall see, in its continuing in his hand he will swallow it up.
And Isaiah will say, They shall lift up round cakes of figs, and rub over the burning sore, and he shall live.
One basket of figs exceedingly good as the figs first ripe, and the one basket of figs exceedingly evil, which shall not be eaten from being evil.
I found Israel as grapes in the desert; as the first fruit in the fig-tree in her beginning I saw your fathers: they went to Baal-Peor, and they will separate themselves to shame, and their abominable things will be according to their love.
You only did I know from all the families of the earth: for this I will review over you all your iniquities.
And they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none terrifying: for the mouth of Jehovah of armies spake.
Wo to me! for I was as the gatherings of the fruit harvest, as the gleanings of the vintage, no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fig.
In that day, says Jehovah of armies, ye shall call each his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree.
And having seen one fig tree by the way, he came to it, and found nothing on it, except leaves only; and he says to it, Let no more fruit be from thee forever. And instantly the fig tree was dried up.
And Jesus, having answered, said to them, Truly I say to you, if ye have faith, and be not removed, ye shall do not only that of the fig tree, but also to this mountain, if ye should say, Be thou lifted up, and cast into the sea, it shall be.
And in the morrow, they having come from Bethany, he hungered :
And he spake to them a parable; See the fig tree, and all trees; When they should already throw forth, seeing of yourselves ye know that summer is already near.
Nathanael says to him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said to him, Before Philip called thee, being under the fig tree, I saw thee.
Hastings
(te'
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Abigail will hasten and take two hundred of bread, and two flasks of wine, and five sheep done, and five measures of parched grain, and a hundred clusters of dried grapes, and two hundred cakes of figs, and put upon asses.
And they will give to him a piece of a cake of dried figs and two bunches of dried grapes: and he will eat and his spirit will turn back to him, for he ate not bread and drank not water three days and three nights.
And Isaiah will say, Take a round mass of figs. And they will take and put upon the burning sore, and he will live.
The fig tree ripened its unripe figs, and the vines are in blossom; they gave an odor. Rise up, my friend, my beautiful one, and go for thyself.
And the flower falling away was the glory of his beauty which is upon the head of the valley of fatness, as the first-fruits before fruit harvest which he looking at it shall see, in its continuing in his hand he will swallow it up.
For as mount Perazim shall Jehovah rise up, as the valley in Gibeon shall he be moved to do his work, his strange work, and to work his service, his unknown service.
And it ate thy harvest and thy bread, that thy sons and thy daughters shall eat: it shall eat thy sheep and thine oxen: it shall eat thy vine and thy fig-trees: it shall break down thy fortified cities which thou trustedst in them, with the sword.
One basket of figs exceedingly good as the figs first ripe, and the one basket of figs exceedingly evil, which shall not be eaten from being evil.
I found Israel as grapes in the desert; as the first fruit in the fig-tree in her beginning I saw your fathers: they went to Baal-Peor, and they will separate themselves to shame, and their abominable things will be according to their love.
And they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none terrifying: for the mouth of Jehovah of armies spake.
Wo to me! for I was as the gatherings of the fruit harvest, as the gleanings of the vintage, no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fig.
If the fig tree shall not blossom, and no produce in the vines; the work of the olive failed, and the fields made not food; and the sheep being cut off from the fold, and no oxen in the stalls.
In that day, says Jehovah of armies, ye shall call each his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree.
And in the morn, having returned into the city, he hungered. And having seen one fig tree by the way, he came to it, and found nothing on it, except leaves only; and he says to it, Let no more fruit be from thee forever. And instantly the fig tree was dried up. read more. And the disciples, seeing, wondered, saying, How suddenly was the fig tree dried up!
And from the fig tree learn a parable; When already her young shoot should be tender, and the leaves should spring forth, ye know that summer is near:
And in the morrow, they having come from Bethany, he hungered : And having seen a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if yet he shall find any thing upon it; and having come to it, he found nothing except leaves; for it was not time of the figs.
And having seen a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if yet he shall find any thing upon it; and having come to it, he found nothing except leaves; for it was not time of the figs.
And in the morning, coming near, they saw the fig tree having been dried up from the roots. And Peter, having recalled to mind, says to him, Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is dried up.
And from the fig tree learn ye a parable; When its young shoot be tender, and cause the leaves to grow, ye know that summer is near. So also ye, when ye see these things done, ye know that it is near at the door. read more. Truly I say to you, that this generation should not pass away, till all these things should be. Heaven and earth shall pass away, and my words shall not pass away. And concerning that day and hour none knows, nor the messengers in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
And he spake to them a parable; See the fig tree, and all trees; When they should already throw forth, seeing of yourselves ye know that summer is already near. read more. So also ye, when ye see these being, know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I say to you, That this generation should not pass away, even till all things should be. Heaven and earth shall pass away: and my words shall not pass away.
And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts her untimely figs, shaken by a great wind.