UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: fig tree

Semantic entry: 3.5

Semantic domains: Plants

Subdomains: Trees

Definition: fruit tree; grows 5-8 m high; round crown and very deep roots; Ficus carica; fruit is about the size of a hen’s egg and can be green, yellow, purple, or brown depending on the type, and is sweet and soft

Notes: In Palestine the fig tree occurs in both wild and cultivated forms and the latter is greatly valued for its sweet, edible fruit. It normally produces two crops each year: early figs ripening in June (late spring) and late ones in August and September (early fall).|For languages in which a term for ‘fig tree’ is not known, one can often employ a borrowed term with a so-called ‘classifier,’ for example, ‘a tree called fig’ or ‘a fruit tree producing fruit called figs.’ In many tropical areas of the world there are forest trees belonging to the botanical family of fig trees, but such trees generally produce inedible fruit. It may, however, be possible for a translator to use the term for such a forest tree but with the added explanation as to the fruit- bearing quality of the trees mentioned in the Bible.

Further resources: flora:2.6