Fig Tree

Biblical References

The fig tree appears consistently throughout the Bible, from its opening chapters through the New Testament.

• Genesis 3:7: After sinning, Adam and Eve sew fig leaves together to cover themselves (the incident of the forbidden fruit).
• Numbers 13:23: The twelve spies bring back figs from Canaan, along with grapes and pomegranates.
• Deuteronomy 8:8: Figs are listed among the produce of the Promised Land.
• 1 Kings 4:25: In the days of Solomon, the people dwelt safely, "every man under his vine and under his fig tree." The same expression appears in Micah 4:4 and Zechariah 3:10 as a promise of restoration.
• 2 Kings 20:7: The prophet Isaiah has a lump of figs laid on Hezekiah's boil.
• Jeremiah 24: Jeremiah sees a vision of two baskets, one of good figs and one of bad figs, representing those carried away into the Babylonian exile and those who remained in the land.
• Habakkuk 3:17–18: Beginning with "Although the fig tree shall not blossom," the prophet declares that he will rejoice in God even when there is no harvest.
• In the New Testament, the fig tree appears in the following passages:
• Jesus' cursing of the fig tree (Mark 11:12–14, 20–21; Matthew 21:18–22)
• The parable of the barren fig tree (Luke 13:6–9)
• The lesson of the fig tree (Matthew 24:32–33)
• Jesus' statement that Nathanael was under the fig tree (John 1:48)

Background

The Sino-Korean name muhwagwa (無花果) means "fruit without flowers." The name arose because the fig's flowers are hidden inside the fruit and cannot be seen from the outside. Figs were eaten fresh or dried and pressed into cakes. In 1 Samuel 25:18, Abigail brings cakes of figs as part of her gift. Because its broad leaves provide shade, the fig tree was also regarded as a place of rest.

The tree that Zacchaeus climbed in Luke 19:4 is rendered "sycamore fig" in the New Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Gaejeong); it is a different tree from the common fig.

Significance Throughout Scripture

A fig tree bearing fruit represents the peace and abundance that God gives. Conversely, a withering fig tree represents judgment (Jeremiah 8:13; Joel 1:7). Hosea 9:10 likens Israel's forefathers to "the firstripe in the fig tree."

Jesus' cursing of the fig tree and the parable in Luke 13 take up this prophetic imagery and are often read as warnings against a people who bear no fruit.

Interpretations and Points of Debate

• The cursing of the fig tree: Mark splits this episode into two parts that frame the cleansing of the temple. For this reason, many interpreters read it as a symbolic judgment on the temple and on Israel. Other interpreters, drawing on the passage that follows, Mark 11:22–25, place the emphasis on its lessons about faith and prayer. The discussion surrounding the phrase "for the time of figs was not yet" (Mark 11:13) is covered in the article Cursing of the Fig Tree.
• Matthew 24:32: Some dispensationalist interpreters identify the fig tree with the nation of Israel and connect it with the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. Other interpreters regard the verse as a parable that draws an illustration from the signs of the seasons and do not read it as referring to any particular nation.
• The forbidden fruit: The text does not specify what kind of fruit grew on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Both the Western artistic tradition of depicting it as an apple and the view of some interpreters that it was a fig are speculations that go beyond the text.
• Nathanael: The text does not say what Nathanael was doing under the fig tree. The explanation that he was meditating on the Law is a conjecture based on tradition. Nathanael is commonly identified with Bartholomew.

In the Korean Church

Habakkuk 3:17–18 is frequently cited, for example in Thanksgiving sermons, as a passage about faith that gives thanks even in difficult circumstances. The parable in Luke 13 is often used in sermons calling for repentance and a fruitful life.