Bible Dictionary: Sycomore

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

SYCOMORE, TREE

sik'-o-mor, (shiqmah, Aramaic shiqema' plural shiqmim; in Septuagint wrongly translated by sukaminos, "the mulberry"; see SYCAMINE (1 Kings 10:27 1 Chronicles 27:28 2 Chronicles 1:15; 2 Chronicles 9:27 Isaiah 9:10 Amos 7:14): shiqkmoth (Psalm 78:47); sukomoraia (Luke 19:4)): The sycomore-fig, Ficus sycomorus (Natural Order, Urticaceae), known in Arabic as Jummeiz, is one of the finest of the lowland trees of Palestine, and attains still greater proportions in Lower Egypt. It is evident from 1 Kings 10:27 2 Chronicles 1:15 that it was once abundant, and at a later period it was so plentiful in the neighborhood of what is now Haifa as to give the name Sykaminon to the town which once stood near there. It is a tree which cannot flourish in the cooler mountain heights; it cannot stand frost (Psalm 78:47). It was one of the distinguishing marks of Lower, as contrasted with Upper, Galilee that the sycomore could flourish there. It is highly improbable that sycomores could ever have flourished near Tekoa (compare Amos 7:14), but it is quite possible that the town or individual inhabitants may have held lands in the Jordan valley or in the Shephelah on which these trees grew. Villages in Palestine today not infrequently possess estates at considerable distances; the village of Silwan (Siloam), for example, possesses and cultivates extensive fertile lands halfway to the Dead Sea. The sycomore produces small, rounded figs, about an inch long, which grow upon tortuous, leafless twigs springing from the trunk or the older branches; they are more or less tasteless. It would appear that in ancient times some treatment was adopted, such as piercing the apex of the fruit to hasten the ripening. Amos was a "nipper" (bolec) of sycomore figs (Amos 7:14). The tree not uncommonly attains a height of 50 ft., with an enormous trunk; in many parts, especially where, as near the coast, the tree grows out of sandy soil, the branching roots stand out of the ground for some distance. The timber is of fair quality and was much valued in ancient times (1 Kings 10:27 2 Chronicles 1:15; 2 Chronicles 9:27 Isaiah 9:10). Mummy cases and many of the best preserved wooden utensils of ancient Egyptian life are made of it. This tree must be distinguished from the English sycamore, Acer pseudo-platanus (Natural Order, Spindaceae), the "false plane tree," a kind of maple.

E. W. G. Masterman

Library

Conversion of Zacchaeus, a Publican
... little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree
to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus ...
/.../the life of jesus christ for the young/conversion of zacchaeus a publican.htm

A Day to be Remembered
... He was up in the sycomore tree, and he heard Christ call, "Zacchaeus." "Why!" he
said to himself, "That is my name; he is calling me." "Zacchaeus, make haste ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 46 1900/a day to be remembered.htm

In Galilee at the Time of Our Lord
... by the mark which the Rabbis give to distinguish between Upper and Lower
Galilee"the former beginning "where sycomores cease to grow." The sycomore, which ...
/.../edersheim/sketches of jewish social life/chapter 3 in galilee at.htm

The Kingdom of God: Its Tasks
... little of stature. And he ran on before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree
to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus ...
/.../rauschenbusch/the social principles of jesus/chapter v the kingdom of.htm

C. The Last Stages. Chs. 17:11 to 19:28
... he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the crowd, because he was little
of stature.4 And he ran on before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to ...
/.../erdman/the gospel of luke an exposition/c the last stages chs.htm

Letter Liii. To Paulinus.
... there is a mystical allusion in the "psalms of degrees." [1470] Amos, although he
is only "an herdman" from the country, "a gatherer of sycomore fruit," [1471 ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter liii to paulinus.htm

The Eighteenth Theban Dynasty
... pieces of wood mortised together so as to form a semicircle or half-ellipse, and
closed by a straight bar; to this frame was fixed a floor of sycomore wood or ...
/.../chapter iiithe eighteenth theban dynasty.htm

Tiglath-Pileser iii. And the Organisation of the Assyrian Empire ...
... and it is a royal house." And Amos replied, "I was no prophet, neither was Ia prophet's
son; but I was a herdman, and a dresser of sycomore trees: and the Lord ...
/.../chapter iitiglath-pileser iii and the.htm

Thesaurus

Sycomore (3 Occurrences)
...SYCOMORE, TREE. ... It was one of the distinguishing marks of Lower, as contrasted
with Upper, Galilee that the sycomore could flourish there. ...
/s/sycomore.htm - 10k

Sycomore-trees (6 Occurrences)
Sycomore-trees. Sycomores, Sycomore-trees. Syene . Multi-Version
Concordance Sycomore-trees (6 Occurrences). 1 Kings ...
/s/sycomore-trees.htm - 8k

Sycamore-trees (6 Occurrences)
... 1 Kings 10:27 And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars
made he to be as the sycomore-trees that are in the lowland, for abundance. ...
/s/sycamore-trees.htm - 8k

Sycamore (9 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary More properly sycomore (Hebrews shikmoth and shikmim,
Gr. ... SYCAMORE. sik'-a-mor. See SYCOMORE. Multi-Version Concordance ...
/s/sycamore.htm - 10k

Baal-hanan (5 Occurrences)
... (2.) An overseer of "the olive trees and sycomore trees in the low plains" (the
Shephelah) under David (1 Chronicles 27:28). Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. ...
/b/baal-hanan.htm - 8k

Gather (251 Occurrences)
... bolec, from balac, to cultivate figs or sycamores, "a gatherer of sycamore fruit,"
the Revised Version (British and American) "a dresser of sycomore-trees" ("a ...
/g/gather.htm - 47k

Amos (12 Occurrences)
... He was a man of humble birth, neither a "prophet nor a prophet's son," but "an herdman
and a dresser of sycomore trees," RV He prophesied in the days of Uzziah ...
/a/amos.htm - 44k

Tree (245 Occurrences)
... EWG Masterman. SYCOMORE, TREE. ... It was one of the distinguishing marks of Lower, as
contrasted with Upper, Galilee that the sycomore could flourish there. ...
/t/tree.htm - 75k

Syene (4 Occurrences)

/s/syene.htm - 8k

Zacchaeus (3 Occurrences)
... Of little stature, he was unable either to see over or to make his way
through the press, and therefore scaled a sycomore tree. ...
/z/zacchaeus.htm - 10k

Bible Concordance

Sycomore (3 Occurrences)

Luke 19:4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.
(KJV ASV)

Psalms 78:47 He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycomore trees with frost.
(KJV ASV)

Amos 7:14 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:
(KJV ASV)

Subtopics

Sycomore

Related Terms

Sycomore-trees (6 Occurrences)

Sycamore-trees (6 Occurrences)

Sycamore (9 Occurrences)

Baal-hanan (5 Occurrences)

Gather (251 Occurrences)

Amos (12 Occurrences)

Tree (245 Occurrences)

Syene (4 Occurrences)

Zacchaeus (3 Occurrences)