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Home » Christianity » Symbolisms of Significant Trees in The Bible

Symbolisms of Significant Trees in The Bible

Throughout the Bible, up to the last chapter of Revelation, trees are seen as important to mankind. Many varieties of trees are cited in the Bible.

Tags: Bible, cedar, fig, Israel, Lebanon, oak, oive, symbolism, trees
Published by athena goodlight in Christianity on November 12, 2009 | 18 responses

  The cedar became a temple, the fig, a covering, and the gopher an ark.  A tree was connected with man’s sin.  In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 3:1-7).  Another tree played a key role in the price of man’s sin.  At Calvary, the Lord Jesus Christ died by crucifixion upon a tree.

The Fig Tree

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The first species mentioned by name in the Bible is the fig (Gen 3:7).  This tree has sometimes been labeled a hypocrite tree because the fruit is green and not easily detected among the leaves until it is nearly ripe.  It is only by close examination in the early stages that the fruit can be detected.  Jesus came to a fig tree, desiring fruit, but found only leaves.  He cursed the tree, and it fried up from the roots (Mark 11:12-14, 20).

After they have sinned, Adam and Eve used fig leaves to try to hide their sinfulness from the eyes of a searching God (Gen 3:6-13).

One time a fig tree was used to enable someone to see Jesus (Luke 19:1-10).  Zacchaeus climbed into a sycamore tree (a type of fig tree) to see Jesus as he passed that way.  It is not unusual for a sycamore tree to reach a height of fifty feet.

The Olive Tree

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Another tree of importance, especially in the land of Israel, was the olive.  The tree became the Biblical symbol for the nation of Israel (Rom. 11:15-25).  Its berries continue to be leading articles of Israeli commerce.  This tree has been called an emblem of peace, prosperity, and wealth (Ps. 128).  When the olive crop fails, it is considered to be a sign of divine wrath (Jer. 11:16-23).

Needing no irrigation, the olive tree thrives well in the Palestinian hills.  Since animal fat cannot be kept for a long time, olive oil became the only source of fat for consumption and frying.  Additionally, the oil served as a base for all cosmetics and cleaning products.  Used in clay lamps, it was the main source for lighting.

Its economic value was much enhanced by the fact that the great river valleys of Egypt and Mesopotamia have unsuitable soil and climate for the cultivation of olives; therefore, olive oil became a major item of export.

Olive oil was also used in the tabernacle for light and ceremonial anointing by the priests of God (Exod. 30: 24- 25; Lev. 24:2-4).  It even plays a role in the book of Genesis.  When the dove returned with an olive leaf in its mouth, Noah knew the waters had receded from the earth.

The Cedar Tree

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The cedar tree was chosen for the temple of God in Jerusalem (I Kings 6:9-20).  There are several possible reasons for this tree’s having been chosen.  “The wood is not attacked by insect pests; it is free from knots.  It has remarkable lasting qualities.”

The cedar forests in Lebanon were famous, and the people traveled great distances just to see them.  These trees grew to heights of 120 feet and girths of 40 feet.  Their life span was often over two thousand years.  The cedars of Lebanon are now very rare; their glory has passed.

The cedar tree was used to build not only the temple of the Lord but also Solomon’s house and other public edifices in Jerusalem.  It was used for roofing the temple of Diana at Ephesus and that of Apollo at Utica, and other famous buildings.

The Oak Tree

Another tree known for its longevity is the oak.  The sturdy oak stood as a witness to certain events.  In the time of the patriarchs, Jacob took the false idols from the members of the household and buried them under an oak at Shechem (Gen. 35:4).  It was by an oak tree that, years later, Joshua took idols from the nation of Israel, who promised to serve only the true God (Josh. 24:14-26).  Was it the same tree?  The scriptures do not tell us, but some scholars infer that this may be true.

When the land of Israel was oppressed by Midian, the Angel of the Lord appeared unto Gideon under an oak tree.  There the angel made a covenant with Gideon to deliver Israel from their oppression (Judg. 6:11-19).

Some oak trees also witnessed evil.  The heathen worshipped idols in oak groves (Ezek. 6:13); Absalom, David’s son, died in an oak tree (II Sam. 18:6-17); and King Saul was buried under an oak tree. (I Chron. 10:12).

One of the most interesting uses of trees in the Scriptures is as a simile for a person’s life – a productive tree and a barren tree. The principle of the comparison still applies to our lives today.  

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18 Responses to “Symbolisms of Significant Trees in The Bible”

  1. LoveDoctor says:
    November 11, 2009 at 2:26 pm

    nice one.

  2. svishnugopal says:
    November 11, 2009 at 3:30 pm

    very good one, i never knew such details..thanks

  3. Authoress Terry E. Lyle says:
    November 11, 2009 at 7:54 pm

    I loved your article.

  4. Tanya Wallace says:
    November 11, 2009 at 8:47 pm

    Wonderful article Athena! Very interesting and informative.As always an excellent write! I did a write quite some time about all the plants in the bible and ended up helping Sil international with a new bible for the Philapines.

  5. Karen Gross says:
    November 11, 2009 at 10:14 pm

    A very thorough, well written article. Trees are very important in the Scriptures. Our pastor did a sermon series called “Between the Trees” The Bible is framed by trees, from the Garden of Eden to the Tree of Life in heaven which bore crops twelve times a year, and its leaves are for the healing of the nations.

  6. Frances Lawrence says:
    November 12, 2009 at 11:18 am

    I loved this article, I have passed the link on to my son, he loves these sort of details.

  7. chitragopi says:
    November 12, 2009 at 11:59 am

    A thorough research you have made . Very interesting.

  8. marriah says:
    November 28, 2009 at 12:59 am

    Good research, I enjoyed reading this article. But I wanted to point out also that if one searches through a concordance and looks up every verse in the bible where there is mention of a tree, You may be surprised how many times trees are refering to people! I wrote 2 pages full of my interpretation of why humans are often related to “trees” and “to bear good fruit” and what being a “tree” means for us as human beings.

  9. Barbara says:
    April 19, 2010 at 6:03 pm

    The burning bush, the good and evil tree, the olive tree, etc. are meant to be taken literally as God (plural). Science calls God cyanobacteria which is responsible for all multicelled life which is us.

  10. Ward Saucier says:
    June 8, 2010 at 1:36 pm

    Amazing site, where did you come up with the knowledge in this article? Im glad I found it though, ill be checking back soon to see what other articles you have.

  11. Minister Marlene says:
    October 1, 2010 at 7:25 pm

    Such a well written article with awesome pictures. I love trees their great for hugging and very significant in the bible.

  12. Golchop says:
    October 14, 2010 at 6:04 pm

    Very insightful. Appreciate the article even though I’m not Christian

  13. johnbee79 says:
    November 9, 2010 at 8:46 pm

    Did U overlook the life tree and the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Good writing!

  14. wilma says:
    February 24, 2011 at 11:45 am

    where in the Bible does it state that the only way you can tell summer and winter time is by the leaves on the tree.

  15. emmanuel says:
    January 10, 2012 at 12:52 pm

    i need more information about bible

  16. Tammy S says:
    April 3, 2012 at 12:39 pm

    i had a dream once and Christ stood on a hill arm stretched out beside an olive tree that had a white fence around it,it stood alone on top the hill, Christ stretched out his hands and said”go tell others these are the signes of the times? and a olive hit the ground and all hell broke loose in the air and on the ground ( every kind of natural disaster)

  17. Alem says:
    September 12, 2012 at 5:31 pm

    Nice article. :)

  18. Habti says:
    September 14, 2012 at 8:09 pm

    Thanks for that, and one thing about a sycamore tree is that when Jesus said what he did it died from the (roots) and that is amazing, why? Because that is totally impossible for any human to do even to take it out of the ground from the roots a Sycamore tree’s roots are so deep into the ground that no one can cut it out take it out pull it out or even bomb it out of the ground part of its roots will still stay in and it will grow again, but that didn’t happen with the (if it was) Sycamore tree in (Mark 11:12-14, 20).
    All things are possible to them that believe (in JESUS FINISHED WORK AT THE CROSS!!!! :D

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