| Translation | Verse | Text |
| King James | De 8:8 | A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; |
| Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
| BARLEY | Sown in Palestine in autumn, and reaped in the spring, that is, at the Passover. The Hebrews frequently used barley bread, 2Sa 1:27; 2Ki 4:42; Joh 6:9. Barley also was much used as food for cattle, 1Ki 4:28. |
| Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
| BARLEY | a grain much cultivated in Egypt (Ex. 9:31) and in Palestine (Lev. 27:16; Deut. 8:8). It was usually the food of horses (1 Kings 4:28). Barley bread was used by the poorer people (Judg. 7:13; 2 Kings 4:42). Barley of the first crop was ready for the harvest by the time of the Passover, in the middle of April (Ruth 1:22; 2 Sam. 21:9). Mention is made of barley-meal (Num. 5:15). Our Lord fed five thousand with "five barley loaves and two small fishes" (John 6:9). |
| Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
| FIG | The fig tree is common in Palestine and the East, and flourishes with the greatest luxuriance in those barren and stony situations where little else will grow. Its large size, and its abundance of five-lobed leaves, render it a pleasant shade tree; and its fruit furnished a wholesome food, very much used in all the lands of the Bible. Thus it was a symbol of peace and plenty, 1Ki 4:25 Mic 4:4 Zec 3:10 Joh 1:49-51. Figs are of two sorts, the "baccore," and the "kermouse." The black and white boccore, or early fig, is produced in June; thought the kermouse, the fig properly so called, which is preserved, and made up into cakes, is rarely ripe before August. There is also a long dark-colored kermouse, that sometimes hangs upon the trees all winter. The fruit of the fig tree is one of the delicacies of the East, and is very often spoken of in Scripture. The early fig was especially prized, Isa 28:4 Jer 24:2 Na 3:12, though the summer fig is most abundant, 2Ki 20:7 Isa 38:21. It is a peculiarity of the fig tree that its fruit begins to appear before the leaves, and without any show of blossoms. It has, indeed, small and hidden blossoms, but the passage in Hab 3:17, should read, according to the original Hebrew, "Although the fig tree should not bear," instead of "blossom." Its leaves come so late in the spring as to justify the words of Christ, "Ye know that summer is nigh," Mt 24:32 So 2:13. The fresh fruit is shaped like a pear. The dried figs of Palestine were probably like those which are brought to our own country; sometimes, however, they are dried on a string. We likewise read of "cakes of figs," 1Sa 25:18 2Ki 20:7 1Ch 12:40. These were probably formed by pressing the fruit forcibly into baskets or other vessels, so as to reduce them to a solid cake or lump. In this way dates are still prepared in Arabia. The barren fig tree which was withered at our Savior's word, as an awful warning to unfruitful professors of religion, seems to have spent itself in leaves. It stood by the wayside, free to all; and as the time for stripping the trees of their fruit had not come, Mr 11:14, it was reasonable to expect to find it covered with figs in various stages of growth. Yet there was "nothing thereon, but leaves only," Mt 21:19. |
| Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
| FIG | First mentioned in Gen. 3:7. The fig-tree is mentioned (Deut. 8:8) as one of the valuable products of Palestine. It was a sign of peace and prosperity (1 Kings 4:25; Micah 4:4; Zech. 3:10). Figs were used medicinally (2 Kings 20:7), and pressed together and formed into "cakes" as articles of diet (1 Sam. 30:12; Jer. 24:2). Our Lord's cursing the fig-tree near Bethany (Mark 11:13) has occasioned much perplexity from the circumstance, as mentioned by the evangelist, that "the time of figs was not yet." The explanation of the words, however, lies in the simple fact that the fruit of the fig-tree appears before the leaves, and hence that if the tree produced leaves it ought also to have had fruit. It ought to have had fruit if it had been true to its "pretensions," in showing its leaves at this particular season. "This tree, so to speak, vaunted itself to be in advance of all the other trees, challenged the passer-by that he should come and refresh himself with its fruit. Yet when the Lord accepted its challenge and drew near, it proved to be but as the others, without fruit as they; for indeed, as the evangelist observes, the time of figs had not yet arrived. Its fault, if one may use the word, lay in its pretensions, in its making a show to run before the rest when it did not so indeed" (Trench, Miracles). The fig-tree of Palestine (Ficus carica) produces two and sometimes three crops of figs in a year, (1) the bikkurah, or "early-ripe fig" (Micah 7:1; Isa. 28:4; Hos. 9:10, R.V.), which is ripe about the end of June, dropping off as soon as it is ripe (Nah. 3:12); (2) the kermus, or "summer fig," then begins to be formed, and is ripe about August; and (3) the pag (plural "green figs," Cant. 2:13; Gr. olynthos, Rev. 6:13, "the untimely fig"), or "winter fig," which ripens in sheltered spots in spring. |
| Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
| HONEY | Was formerly very plentiful in Palestine, and hence the frequent expressions of Scripture which import that that country was a land flowing with milk and honey, Le 20:24. Wild bee honey was often found in hollow trees and clefts in the rocks, De 32:13 Ps 81:16; and on this John the Baptist fed, Mt 3:4. Honey was highly prized, Ps 19:10 Pr 5:3 27:7. Modern travellers observe that it is still very common there, and that the inhabitants mix it in all their sauces. Forskal says the caravans of Mecca bring honey from Arabia to Cairo, and that he has often seen honey flowing in the woods in Arabia. It would seem that this flowing honey is bee honey, and this fact illustrates the story of Jonathan, 1Sa 14:25,27. But there is also a vegetable honey that is very plentiful in the East. Burckhardt, speaking of the productions of the Ghor, or valley of the Jordan, says one of the most interesting productions of this place is the Beyrouk honey, as the Arabs call it. It was described to him as a juice dropping from the leaves and twigs of a tree called Gharrab, of the size of an olive tree, with leaves like those of the popular, but somewhat broader. The honey collects on the leaves like dew, and is gathered from them, or from the ground under the tree. Another vegetable product is referred to in the Bible as honey, 2Co 13:14. It is syrup, prepared by boiling down the juice of dates, etc. That made from grapes is called dibs, and is much used by the Arabs as a condiment with food. It resembles thin molasses, and is pleasant to the taste, Ge 43:11. |
| Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
| HONEY | (1.) Heb. ya'ar, occurs only 1 Sam. 14:25, 27, 29; Cant. 5:1, where it denotes the honey of bees. Properly the word signifies a forest or copse, and refers to honey found in woods. (2.) Nopheth, honey that drops (Ps. 19:10; Prov. 5:3; Cant. 4:11). (3.) Debash denotes bee-honey (Judg. 14:8); but also frequently a vegetable honey distilled from trees (Gen. 43:11; Ezek. 27:17). In these passages it may probably mean "dibs," or syrup of grapes, i.e., the juice of ripe grapes boiled down to one-third of its bulk. (4.) Tsuph, the cells of the honey-comb full of honey (Prov. 16:24; Ps. 19:10). (5.) "Wild honey" (Matt. 3:4) may have been the vegetable honey distilled from trees, but rather was honey stored by bees in rocks or in trees (Deut. 32:13; Ps. 81:16; 1 Sam. 14:25-29). Canaan was a "land flowing with milk and honey" (Ex. 3:8). Milk and honey were among the chief dainties in the earlier ages, as they are now among the Bedawin; and butter and honey are also mentioned among articles of food (Isa. 7:15). The ancients used honey instead of sugar (Ps. 119:103; Prov. 24:13); but when taken in great quantities it caused nausea, a fact referred to in Prov. 25:16, 17 to inculcate moderation in pleasures. Honey and milk also are put for sweet discourse (Cant. 4:11). |
| Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
| OIL | Was employed from the earliest periods in the east, not only for the purpose of consecration, but to anoint the head, the beard, and the whole person in daily life, Ge 28:18. See ANOINTING. It was also universally used for food, Eze 16:13. Fresh and sweet olive oil was greatly preferred to butter and animal fat as a seasoning for food, and to this day in Syria almost every kind of food is cooked with oil. It had a place also among the meat-offerings in the temple, being usually mixed with the meal of the oblation, Le 5:11 6:21. For lamps, also, pure olive oil was regarded as the best, and was used in illuminating the tabernacle. These many uses for oil made the culture of the olive-tree an extensive and lucrative business, 1Ch 27:28 Eze 27:17 Ho 12:1. Oil was as much an article of storage and of traffic as corn and wine, 2Ch 32:28 Ezr 3:7. The best oil was obtained from the fruit while yet green by a slight beating or pressing, Ex 27:20 29:40. The ripe fruit is now, and has been from ancient times, crushed by passing stone rollers over it. The crushed mass is then subjected to pressure in the oil-mill, Hebrew, gath-shemen. The olive-berries are not now trodden with the feet. This, however seems to have been practiced among the Hebrews, at least to some extent when the berries had become soft by keeping, Mic 6:15. Gethsemane, that is, oil-press, probably took its name originally from some oil-press in its vicinity. See OLIVE. |
| Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
| OIL | Only olive oil seems to have been used among the Hebrews. It was used for many purposes: for anointing the body or the hair (Ex. 29:7; 2 Sam. 14:2; Ps. 23:5; 92:10; 104:15; Luke 7:46); in some of the offerings (Ex. 29:40; Lev. 7:12; Num. 6:15; 15:4), but was excluded from the sin-offering (Lev. 5:11) and the jealousy-offering (Num. 5:15); for burning in lamps (Ex. 25:6; 27:20; Matt. 25:3); for medicinal purposes (Isa. 1:6; Luke 10:34; James 5:14); and for anointing the dead (Matt. 26:12; Luke 23:56). It was one of the most valuable products of the country (Deut. 32:13; Ezek. 16:13), and formed an article of extensive commerce with Tyre (27:17). The use of it was a sign of gladness (Ps. 92:10; Isa. 61:3), and its omission a token of sorrow (2 Sam. 14:2; Matt. 6:17). It was very abundant in Galilee. (See OLIVE.) |
| Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
| OLIVE | This is one of the earliest trees mentioned in Scripture, and has furnished, perhaps ever since he deluge the most universal emblem of peace, Ge 8:11. It is always classed among the most valuable trees of Palestine, which is described as a land of oil olive, and honey, De 6:11 8:8 Hab 3:17. No tree is more frequently mentioned in the Greek and Roman classics. By the Greeks it was dedicated to Minerva, and employed in crowning Jove, Apollo, and Hercules. The olive is never a very large or beautiful tree, and seldom exceeds thirty feet in height: its leaves are dark green on the upper surface, and of a silvery hue on the under, and generally grow in pairs. Its wood is hard, like that of box, and very close in the grain. It blossoms very profusely, and bears fruit every other year. The flower is at first yellow, but as it expands, it becomes whiter, leaving a yellow center. The fruit resembles a plum in shape and in color, being first green, then pale, and when ripe, black. It is gathered by shaking the boughs and by beating them with poles, De 24:20 Isa 17:6, and is sometimes plucked in an unripe state, put into some preserving liquid, and exported. It is principally valuable for the oil it produces, which is an important article of commerce in the east. A full-sized tree in full bearing vigor is said to produce a thousand pounds of oil, Jud 9:8,9 2Ch 2:10. The olive delights in a stony soil, and will thrive even on the sides and tops of rocky hills, where there is scarcely any earth; hence the expression "oil out of the flinty rock," etc., De 32:13 Job 29:6. It is an evergreen tree, and very longlived, an emblem of a fresh and enduring piety, Ps 52:8. Around an old trunk young plants shoot up from the same root, to adorn the parent stock when living, and succeed it when dead; hence the allusion in describing the family of the just, Ps 128:3. It is slow of growth, and no less slow to decay. The ancient trees now in Gethsemane are believed by many to have sprung from the roots of those, which witnessed the agony of our Lord. The "wild olive-tree" is smaller than the cultivated, and inferior in all its parts and products. A graft upon it, from a good tree, bore good fruit; while a graft from a "wild" olive upon a good tree, remains "wild" as before. Yet, "contrary to nature," the sinner engrafted on Christ partakes of His nature and bears good fruit, Ro 11:13-26. |
| Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
| OLIVE | the fruit of the olive-tree. This tree yielded oil which was highly valued. The best oil was from olives that were plucked before being fully ripe, and then beaten or squeezed (Deut. 24:20; Isa. 17:6; 24:13). It was called "beaten," or "fresh oil" (Ex. 27:20). There were also oil-presses, in which the oil was trodden out by the feet (Micah 6:15). James (3:12) calls the fruit "olive berries." The phrase "vineyards and olives" (Judg. 15:5, A.V.) should be simply "olive-yard," or "olive-garden," as in the Revised Version. (See OIL.) |
| Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
| TREES | Were frequently used as types of kings, or men of wealth and power, Ps 37:35 Isa 2:13 Da 4:10-26 Zec 11:1,2. The "tree of knowledge of good and evil" bore the forbidden fruit, by eating of which Adam fatally increased his knowledge?of good by its loss, of sin and woe by actual experience, Ge 2:9,17. The "tree of life" may have been both an assurance and a means of imparting life, a seal of eternal holiness and bliss, if man had not sinned. Compare Re 22:2. |
| Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
| WHEAT | Is the principal and most valuable kind of grain for the service of man, and is produced in almost every part of the world, Ge 30:14 De 8:8 Jud 6:11 Mt 13:25 1Co 15:37. It is often intended where the word corn is used. See CORN. The Egyptian wheat, Triticum Compositum, has six or seven ears on one head; so that it presented its usual appearance in this respect in Pharaoh's dream, Ge 41:5-7. The "meat-offerings" of the Mosaic service, Le 2:1-16, were all made of wheaten flour. |
| Word | Easton Dictionary - Definition |
| WHEAT | one of the earliest cultivated grains. It bore the Hebrew name hittah, and was extensively cultivated in Palestine. There are various species of wheat. That which Pharaoh saw in his dream was the Triticum compositum, which bears several ears upon one stalk (Gen. 41:5). The "fat of the kidneys of wheat" (Deut. 32:14), and the "finest of the wheat" (Ps. 81:16; 147:14), denote the best of the kind. It was exported from Palestine in great quantities (1 Kings 5:11; Ezek. 27:17; Acts 12:20). Parched grains of wheat were used for food in Palestine (Ruth 2:14; 1 Sam. 17:17; 2 Sam. 17:28). The disciples, under the sanction of the Mosaic law (Deut. 23:25), plucked ears of corn, and rubbing them in their hands, ate the grain unroasted (Matt. 12:1; Mark 2:23; Luke 6:1). Before any of the wheat-harvest, however, could be eaten, the first-fruits had to be presented before the Lord (Lev. 23:14). |
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