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.
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Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.
And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon.
And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
The fig-tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the early fruit before the summer; which, when he that looketh upon it, seeth while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he will recover.
One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very poor figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.
But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.
All thy strong holds shall be like fig-trees with the first ripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.
Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no food; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig-tree.
And when he saw a fig-tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing on it, but leaves only, and said to it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforth for ever. And immediately the fig-tree withered.
Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; When its branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
And Jesus answered and said to it, Let no man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
Nathanael answered and said 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, dost thou believe? thou shalt see greater things than these. read more. And he saith to him, Verily, verily, I say to you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels 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.
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And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked: and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made for themselves aprons.
A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates, a land of olive-oil, and honey;
And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drank any water, three days and three nights.
And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon.
And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
The fig-tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the early fruit before the summer; which, when he that looketh upon it, seeth while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very poor figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.
I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first ripe in the fig-tree at her first time: but they went to Baal-peor, and separated themselves to that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.
But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.
Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape-gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fruit.
All thy strong holds shall be like fig-trees with the first ripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.
In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig-tree.
And seeing a fig-tree afar off, having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing on it: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves: for the time of figs had not yet come.
And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth its untimely figs, when it is shaken by a mighty 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.
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Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.
And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon.
The fig-tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the early fruit before the summer; which, when he that looketh upon it, seeth while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he will recover.
One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very poor figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.
I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first ripe in the fig-tree at her first time: but they went to Baal-peor, and separated themselves to that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.
You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.
Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape-gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fruit.
In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig-tree.
And when he saw a fig-tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing on it, but leaves only, and said to it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforth for ever. And immediately the fig-tree withered.
Jesus answered and said to them, Verily I say to you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig-tree, but also, if ye shall say to this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
And on the morrow, when they had come from Bethany, he was hungry,
And he spoke to them a parable; Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your ownselves that summer is now nigh at hand.
Nathanael saith to him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said to him, Before Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee.
Hastings
(te'
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Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.
And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drank any water, three days and three nights.
And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
The fig-tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the early fruit before the summer; which, when he that looketh upon it, seeth while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
For the LORD will rise as on mount Perazim, he will be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
And they shall eat up thy harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thy herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig-trees: they shall impoverish with the sword thy fortified cities, in which thou hast trusted.
One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very poor figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.
I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first ripe in the fig-tree at her first time: but they went to Baal-peor, and separated themselves to that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.
But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.
Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape-gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fruit.
Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no food; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig-tree.
Now in the morning as he was returning into the city, he was hungry. And when he saw a fig-tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing on it, but leaves only, and said to it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforth for ever. And immediately the fig-tree withered. read more. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How soon is the fig-tree withered!
Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; When its branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
And on the morrow, when they had come from Bethany, he was hungry, And seeing a fig-tree afar off, having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing on it: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves: for the time of figs had not yet come.
And seeing a fig-tree afar off, having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing on it: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves: for the time of figs had not yet come.
And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig-tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance, saith to him, Master, behold, the fig-tree which thou cursedst is withered.
Now learn a parable of the fig-tree: When its branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. read more. Verily I say to you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things shall be done. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
And he spoke to them a parable; Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your ownselves that summer is now nigh at hand. read more. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say to you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my word shall not pass away.
And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth its untimely figs, when it is shaken by a mighty wind.