The Significance of Fig Leaves in The Bible: What They Represented Historically and What They Represent Today
Ficus carica L., commonly known as the fig, originated in the northern Asia Minor and spread with the Greeks and the Romans throughout the Mediterranean region. Fig trees can live as long as 100 years and grow to 50 feet tall, although they typically stay between 10 to 30 feet. Figs flourish in hot and dry climates, and the fruit requires the all-day sun to ripen. Ancient Olympians are said to have earned figs for their athletic prowess, and Pliny the Elder extolled the fruit's restorative powers. The prophet Mohammed reportedly identified the fig as the one fruit he would most wish to see in paradise. So why does this seemingly normal fruit become recorded throughout the bible in both the old and new testament several times? Why is the fruit used in a parable by Jesus? Why does Jesus curse the fig tree? Why is Israel compared to a fig tree in Hosea? What did Jesus mean when he said to Nathaniel that he saw him under a fig tree when he was walking with Philip to see Jesus? Why did Adam and Eve cover themselves with fig leaves when they disobeyed God? Is there a connection between all of the figs leave references? All of these questions are the focus of this post as there is a repeated significance with fig trees and fig leaves that is certainly intentional.
In the book of Genesis there are three trees specifically mentioned, namely the tree of life, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and fig leaves; fig leaves are noted with the most ancient references within Judaic-Christian text. And they are first mentioned in the context of Adam and Eve disobeying God’s commandment, the story is as follows:
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings (Genesis 3:6-7).
Author Graham Ward in his article Adam and Eve’s Shame (And Ours) states, “So the first effect of disobedience, and eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, was shame at the realisation they were naked” (Ward, 305). Before analyzing the correlations, symbolisms, and references of the fig tree in any other context, it is vital to establish its originality based on the law of first mentions— figs represent the covering of shame. “Theologically, the story in Genesis about the origins of shame and the origin of sin provides us with an anthropological sketch,” notes Ward, “There is no direct access to some pre-Adamic understanding of the human condition and there's no direct route back to Paradise. Each of the monotheistic faiths offers mediated ways of a return, for Christians through Christ, but that does not invalidate the biblical account of post-lapsarian anthropology, and shame (and fear) as an ineradicable aspect of that anthropology” (Ward, 306). Shame— as an “ineradicable aspect” of the human condition— is interesting in terms of how we both see its connection to figs but also how it connects inherently. St. Augustine famously makes the connection between the amor sui that led to Adam's sin of pride and the libidio dominandi that it exacerbated— lust, nakedness, genitalia, original sin and death. In The Literal Meaning of Genesis, Vol. 2 Augustine notes: “consequently subject to the same drive by which there is in animals a desire to copulate ... Nevertheless, even in its punishment the rational soul gave evidence of its innate nobility when it blushed because of the animal movement of members of its body and when it imparted to it a sense of shame, not only because it began to experience something where there had been so such feeling before, but also because this movement of which it was ashamed came from the violation of the divine command. . . Finally, in this troubled state they hastened to get fig leaves, they sewed aprons together, and, because they had abandoned what was their glory, they hid what was to their shame” (Ward, 308).
During biblical times the fig, vine and olive were the principal fruits. Figs were widespread, cheap, and were nearly year-round; it was a symbol of peace according to Goor. In the book of Numbers chapter 8, God lists figs as one of the seven blessed spices that the children of Israel were to partake in when they went into the Promised Land. The parable of Jotham further testifies of the fig's significance by rating it second to the olive in eligibility for kingship. Judges 9: 10-11 states: "And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees'?" Proverbs 27:18 creates an adage for figs, “Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honored.” Goor also highlights how the prophets warned Israel again and again: if the people walked not in the path of righteousness, the fig would vanish; if they were pious, it would yield its fruit (Goor, 126). "And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees . . . and I will make them a forest" (Hosea, 2:12). Figs were even seen as a place of happiness, security, and wealth that the children of Israel identified with in times of peace: "And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon" (I Kings, 4:25); "But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid" (Micah, 4:4). Figs were also used for negative analogies which is evident in Isaiah 34: 4, “All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; All their host shall fall down As the leaf falls from the vine, And as fruit falling from a fig tree.” Additionally, Jeremiah 24, it presents the figs as both a negative and positive representation:
The Lord showed me, and there were two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord, after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. 2 One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten, they were so bad. 3 Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.” 4 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I [a]acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. 6 For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. 7 Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.8 ‘And as the bad figs which cannot be eaten, they are so bad’—surely thus says the Lord—‘so will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt.
The previous scripture captures the essence of the fig that has become evident, which is that fig symbolism possessed both a negative and positive connotation. The first mention and the old-testament reference and symbolism of figs are at conflict; they are all a symbol of peace and blessing and also a sort of curse and representation of lack. With a plethora of scripture evident throughout the old testament, it seems clear that figs were not simply fruit to the Jews, but possessed a sort of prophetic symbolism that historical Jews would have interpreted to be more significant than any other fruit.
Figs as they are depicted in the New Testament begin with Matthew 21:18. What’s most interesting about this passage is that Jesus expects fruit from the fig tree knowing that it was not the season. Why would Jesus then curse something that he knew was not in season? In Matthew 21:21, Jesus explains the lesson from the fig tree:
21 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
The context of Matthew 21 is such that Jesus was greeted as a king and messiah as he rode on a colt into Bethphage. The people were crying out “Hosanna to the Son of David!” Then following this entry, Jesus is recorded overturning the tables of those gambling within the temple declaring, “And He said to them, ‘It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” Got Questions notes that the fruit of the fig generally appears before the leaves, therefore, when Jesus and His disciples saw from a distance that the tree had leaves, they would have expected it to also have fruit on it even though it was earlier in the season. Further, Got Questions states that in some parts of Israel, depending on climate and conditions, it was also possible that a tree might produce fruit ten out of twelve months. At first, I found this perhaps to be an accurate statement but a rather weak one. However, Author Fred T Wright, in his book, Manners and Customs of Bible Lands, says this about the fig trees: “The normal habit of the fig tree is that fruit begins to form on the fig tree as soon as leaves appear. Leaves and fruit also disappear together.” Additionally, The Henry Morris Study Bible makes this comment about the fig tree—“The Palestinian fig tree normally produces both leaves and small figs in early March, so this tree should have borne figs along with its leaves.” This is interesting in terms of how the old testament compares the nation of Israel to figs.
“It is as if Jesus is cursing the deception that the nation of Israel was depicting, the leaves were present without fruit. The nation had a form of godliness but denied the fruit and spirit of what that was supposed to truly entail. ”
The parable of Luke 13:6 captures this explanation— “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ” This confirms the significance of usefulness and anti-deception. The keeper of the vineyard (God the father) wanted fruit from a tree that was not producing and wanted it to be cut down for its lack of productivity. The parable in Mark 13:28 highlights how Jesus viewed the leaves of the fig tree as a sign of a change in the natural and spiritual season. Several times the prophets describe God as inspecting Israel for “early figs,” as a sign of spiritual fruitfulness (Mic. 7:1; Jer. 8:13; Hos. 9:10–17)—but he finds “no first-ripe fig that my soul desires.” Figs have now become a signal of literal fruitfulness, productivity, and purpose that the nation was lacking significantly during Jesus’ time; the nation of Israel ultimately needed a reawakening and the figs (and lack thereof) were deemed to be a sign of that.
Was the fig tree simply a lesson to have faith? Robin in The Cursing of The Fig Tree in Mark XI. A Hypothesis lays out three different interpretations of Mark 11, specifically—the non-historical or legendary interpretation, the transformed parable interpretation, and the historical interpretation. The non-historical interpretation is summarized by Branscomb: “One is tempted to conjecture that a fig tree on the road between Bethany and Jerusalem from which the disciples and Jesus had several times gathered figs, withered either during the latter days of the ministry or subsequently and that pious legend supplied the cause. To Mark . . . the story was simply another proof of the wonder-working power of Jesus” (Robin, 276). The transformed parable interpretation is summarized by W. L. Knox as he writes: “In itself the story began as the parable of Luke xiii. 6f. Since the parable foretold the destruction of the Jewish state it would easily be regarded as a prophecy which had produced its own fulfillment. It would be a short step from this to the symbolic action which was also a miracle.” However, the author believes that it's not accurate to say that the incident and the parable had a common origin. Robin believes that scholars who accept the historicity of the incident are almost unanimous in explaining its meaning as a symbolic action signifying both the state and fate of the Jewish nation. Like the fig tree, the Chosen People of God were making a fair outward show in the worship of the Temple and in the strict observances of Pharisaic Judaism but not in fact producing (Robin, 279). I find the historical interpretation to be the most compelling and most accurate in its alignment with previous commentary. The fig was the people of Israel in their current state of outwardly appearing righteous but inwardly falling short of all that God had called them to be.
Another interesting passage within the new-testament as it relates to figs is found in John 1:48-50. This passage is interesting because it is one of the references where a person is under a fig tree or leaf similar to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. The context of Micah 4 is that God prophesied as being exalted among the nations and that every nation is coming to see him with the resolution of not knowing war. Moreover, in verse four it states, “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.”
“This eschatological reign of God depicts the fig as a place of rest where the people will not be afraid. This is interesting because in Genesis 3 Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together in order to hide their shame, but it seems that the symbolism of figs is redefined in order to take away that same fear and shame from the garden of Eden.”
John 1:48 states:
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter[o] you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
The scholarly interpretations of this passage are few. But we can deduct from this that whatever Nathanael was doing under the fig tree was something very secretive, and yet significant to him that he ascribed divinity to Jesus for knowing that he was under the fig tree. It is believed that in the first century, Jewish Rabbis would instruct their students to find a place of seclusion under an olive vine or fig tree to study and pray. Perhaps Nathanael was in awe that Jesus saw him doing this although never having seen him; but if this was common practice then it would not have been revelatory for Jesus to make this comment. Perhaps it was the timing in which Jesus said this because he specified “Before Philip called you . . .” that was deemed a supernatural act. Or maybe, just maybe, Nathanael was ashamed and afraid, and Jesus was the only one that acknowledged this. If Nathanael was “an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit”, then he must have been ostracized from his peers for living in a way that Jesus considered righteous, which was not common for Jesus to find especially since majority of Jesus’ ministry is rebuking the pharisees and Sadducees. This authenticity from Nathanael certainly must have put him at odds with the wider society and caused a certain negligence that Jesus was acknowledging. And what applies to us today is that perhaps, Jesus was simply acknowledging the same old leaves that caused the original man Adam to feel alone and ashamed, although despite his sin he was still worthy. Within the hustle of our own life, we should take a moment to analyze whether if God were to come to our tree, would we have fruit to give Him.
