Fruit-trees hold significant symbolic and practical importance throughout the Bible, serving as metaphors for spiritual truths and as sources of sustenance and blessing. From the Garden of Eden to the visions of the prophets, fruit-trees are woven into the biblical narrative, illustrating God's provision and the moral and spiritual lessons He imparts to His people.

Creation and the Garden of Eden

In the account of creation, God plants a garden in Eden, where He places the first man, Adam. Among the trees in the garden, two are specifically mentioned: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:9). These trees symbolize the choices and consequences that humanity faces. The tree of life represents eternal life and communion with God, while the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents the moral autonomy that leads to sin and separation from God.

Symbolism and Metaphor

Fruit-trees often symbolize the righteous and their spiritual fruitfulness. In Psalm 1:3 , the righteous man is likened to "a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does." This imagery underscores the idea that those who delight in the law of the Lord are sustained and fruitful, much like a well-watered tree.

The prophets also use fruit-trees to convey messages of judgment and restoration. In Jeremiah 17:7-8 , the person who trusts in the Lord is compared to a tree planted by the water, which sends out its roots by the stream and does not fear when heat comes. Conversely, in Isaiah 5:1-7, the vineyard, a metaphor for Israel, is judged for producing wild grapes instead of good fruit, illustrating the consequences of unfaithfulness.

Agricultural and Economic Importance

Fruit-trees were vital to the agrarian society of ancient Israel, providing food, oil, and other resources. The Promised Land is described as "a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey" (Deuteronomy 8:8). This description highlights the abundance and fertility of the land God promised to His people.

The Law of Moses includes specific instructions regarding fruit-trees. For instance, Leviticus 19:23-25 commands that fruit from newly planted trees should not be eaten for the first three years, and in the fourth year, all the fruit is to be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. This law reflects the principle of firstfruits and the dedication of the best to God.

New Testament Teachings

In the New Testament, Jesus frequently uses fruit-trees in His parables and teachings to illustrate spiritual truths. In Matthew 7:17-20 , He teaches that "every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit," emphasizing the connection between one's inner character and outward actions. Similarly, in John 15:1-8, Jesus describes Himself as the true vine and His followers as branches, urging them to remain in Him to bear much fruit.

The Apostle Paul also uses the metaphor of fruit to describe the qualities produced by the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. In Galatians 5:22-23 , he lists the fruit of the Spirit as "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."

Eschatological Visions

In the eschatological visions of the prophets and the book of Revelation, fruit-trees appear as symbols of healing and eternal life. Ezekiel 47:12 describes trees growing along the riverbanks in the new temple vision, whose leaves will not wither and whose fruit will not fail, serving as food and medicine. Similarly, Revelation 22:2 depicts the tree of life in the New Jerusalem, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding its fruit every month, with leaves for the healing of the nations.

Fruit-trees, therefore, are rich in biblical symbolism, representing God's provision, the spiritual health of His people, and the ultimate restoration of creation.

Argument. --He First of all Asserts that the Law is Spiritual; and ...
... Argument."He First of All Asserts that the Law is Spiritual; And Thence, Man's First
Food Was Only the Fruit Trees, and the Use of Flesh Was Added, that the ...
/.../novatian/on the jewish meats/chapter ii argument he first of.htm

Whether the Judicial Precepts Regarding Foreigners were Framed in ...
... Therefore the Lord unsuitably commanded (Dt.20:13-19) that all the inhabitants of
a captured hostile city were to be slain, but that the fruit-trees should not ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether the judicial precepts regarding.htm

The Barren Fig-Tree.
... proprietors with a view to an export trade, but by each family on a small scale
with a view to the food of the household, to plant some fruit trees of other ...
/.../arnot/the parables of our lord/xx the barren fig-tree.htm

The Great Crisis in Popular Feeling - the Last Discourses in the ...
... The fruit-trees were every day, or at least every week or two, to yield their riches,
the fields their harvests; [3435] the grain was to stand like palm trees ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xxxii the great crisis.htm

Of Removing Tithes.
... Bunb.283. Fruit-trees, cut down and sold, are not titheable, if they have
paid tithe-fruit that year before cut.2 Inst.621. But ...
/.../prideaux/directions to church-wardens/8 of removing tithes.htm

Palestine Eighteen Centuries Ago
... Accordingly not only the fruit trees, the grain, and garden produce known in our
colder latitudes were found in the land, along with those of sunnier climes ...
/.../sketches of jewish social life/chapter 1 palestine eighteen centuries.htm

Elegance and Grace
... if they had nothing else? But shall no beauty, no symmetry, be observed
in the care of fruit trees? Undoubtedly there should, and ...
/.../kleiser/the training of a public speaker/elegance and grace.htm

Light and Shade.
... the midst of the valley might be marked the meandering track of the Chiang-chiu
river, the whole region beautifully variegated with fruit trees, shade trees ...
//christianbookshelf.org/fagg/forty years in south china/iv light and shade.htm

Asa
... Valuable fruit-trees grow slowly, but a poisonous fungus will spring up in
a night. Evidence of this often appears in national affairs. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/milligan/men of the bible some lesser-known/asa.htm

My California Trip
... Fig-trees do not bloom like most other fruit-trees, but the fig itself pushes out
at the end of the twig, just as the leaves begin on a hickory-tree. ...
/.../cole/trials and triumphs of faith/chapter xvii my california trip.htm

Fruit-trees (5 Occurrences)
Fruit-trees. Fruit-tree, Fruit-trees. Frustrate . Multi-Version
Concordance Fruit-trees (5 Occurrences). Genesis 1:11 ...
/f/fruit-trees.htm - 8k

Orchard (3 Occurrences)
... 2. (n.) An enclosure containing fruittrees; also, the fruittrees, collectively; --
used especially of apples, peaches, pears, cherries, plums, or the like ...
/o/orchard.htm - 8k

Fruit-tree (4 Occurrences)
Fruit-tree. Fruits, Fruit-tree. Fruit-trees . Multi-Version Concordance
Fruit-tree (4 Occurrences). ... (YLT). Fruits, Fruit-tree. Fruit-trees . Reference
/f/fruit-tree.htm - 7k

Siege (63 Occurrences)
... 18). The same law prescribed that there should be no unnecessary destruction
of fruittrees in the prosecution of a long siege. ...
/s/siege.htm - 51k

Frustrate (7 Occurrences)

/f/frustrate.htm - 10k

Sorts (65 Occurrences)
... Leviticus 19:23 And when you have come into the land, and have put in all sorts
of fruit-trees, their fruit will be as if they had not had circumcision, and ...
/s/sorts.htm - 26k

Botany
... Of fruittrees the apricot, mulberry, orange, citron, lemon and prickly pear have
all been introduced into Syria within historic times; as have almost all the ...
/b/botany.htm - 38k

Yielding (19 Occurrences)
... Genesis 1:11 God said, "Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and
fruittrees bearing fruit after their kind, with its seed in it, on the earth ...
/y/yielding.htm - 12k

Vegetation (18 Occurrences)
... Genesis 1:11 God said, "Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and
fruittrees bearing fruit after their kind, with its seed in it, on the earth ...
/v/vegetation.htm - 11k

Olive-yards (5 Occurrences)
... 9:25 And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all
goods, wells digged, vineyards and olive-yards, and fruittrees in abundance ...
/o/olive-yards.htm - 8k

What does it mean that you will know them by their fruit in Matthew 7:16? | GotQuestions.org

What is the significance of the olive tree in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Why did Jesus curse the fig tree? | GotQuestions.org

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