Fig
Figs and lies
Genesis 3:7 "And the eyes of them both were opened(וַתִּפָּקַ֙חְנָה֙)[1], and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed[2] fig(תְאֵנָ֔ה)[3] leaves[4] together, and made themselves aprons."[5]
The word fig in the Hebrew language is basically תְּאֵן TavAlefNun teen[3] but the same letters of the word תְּאֵן are given a different Strong's number and sometimes pronounced tëun 08383. I Teun with the same base of תְּאֵן TavAlefNun is translated lies[6] (in the sense of iniquity) and can be seen in Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 24:12 "12 She hath wearied herself with lies(תְּאֻנִ֖ים)[6], and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire(בְּאֵ֖שׁ)."
Lies and toil which corrodes the cauldron
In the New American standard the translation is wrought:
"She has wearied [Me] with toil, Yet her great rust has not gone from her; [Let] her rust [be] in the fire!
The word "rust", sometimes translate "scum" or "corrosion" from chelah חֶלְאָה (ḥel·’ā·ṯāh.) And appears in the text as חֶלְאָתָֽהּ׃ with an additional Tav.
The noun חֶלְאָה appears only in Ezekiel 24, where it is rendered by the Berean Standard Bible as “corrosion” or “rust.” The prophet’s parable of the boiling pot employs the imagery of stubborn corrosion on a bronze cauldron to expose Jerusalem’s entrenched guilt and to announce the certainty of divine judgment.
Occassional departure
Besides the word we see for lies(תְּאֻנִ֖ים) TavAlefNun[6] and the word for figs תְּאֵן TavAlefNun[3] we also see the word תַּאֲנָה ta’anah 08385 תאנה TavAlefNunHey[7] [teh-ay-naw’] translated occassion perhaps of foreign derivation appears twice, o ce in Judges and once in the writings of the prophet Jeremiah:
- Judges 14:4 "But his father and his mother knew not that it [was] of the LORD, that he sought an occasion <08385> against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.'
- Jeremiah 2:24 "A wild ass used to the wilderness, [that] snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion <08385> who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her."
The term ta’anah תַּאֲנָה denotes a decisive moment, occasion, or driving impulse. In Scripture it is found only twice, yet each setting illustrates a striking intersection between human passion and divine purpose which a departure from the will of God.
Leafs and harbingers
The first mention, Genesis 3:7, shows Adam and Eve sewing fig leaves or connecting lies in counterfit logos without the guidance of the tree of life. They do this to hide or deny thei nakedness after the fall. This metaphoric coverings dramatize mankind’s impulse to deal with guilt apart from divine provision of the tree of life.
Substitutionary repenting
The image supposedly prepares readers for the later revelation that only a substitutionary sacrifice can cover sin (Genesis 3:21).
One is not saved or forgiven merely because Christ died. He died that you might be saved. You are still instructed to seek righteousness, forgive that you may be forgiven, be doers of the word and not hearers only, laying down your life to pick it up again.
Girding vanity
The wraping our wound with an apron"[5] of lies does not fool God nor those who see by His divine will and light.
The Hebrew term חֲגוֹר ChetGimelVavReish chagowr (chagor) can simply denote a belt, sash, or loin-covering that encircles the waist.
But in Scripture it is never a mere accessory. It commonly carries a moral, social, or sometimes a prophetic weight, anchoring terms like garments to a symbolic meaning.
Old Testament Occurrences like what we see in Genesis 3:7 where Adam and Eve agree to fashion “coverings” (chagor) of fig leaves (lies) as a string of delusional deceptions to remedy the pain of their guilt foretells of an eventual need for divinely inspired awakening. (Genesis 3:21).
"21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them."way·yal·bi·šêm(וַיַּלְבִּשֵֽׁם׃פ)[8]
The verb labash לָבַשׁ occurs roughly one-hundred-ten times across twenty-four Old Testament books. It ranges from the most concrete acts of putting on everyday garments to exalted portrayals of the LORD Himself being “robed in majesty” (Psalms 93:1). It may represent the provision of a priestly ordination, royal responsibility, military preparedness, spiritual endowment, moral transformation, or a promise of hope.
It may refer to literal clothing as well as an expression of divine will. The first occurrence sets the tone grace to cover nakedness brought on by sin, foreshadowing deeper coverings to come with repentance.
Positive imagery of a leaf
Positive leaf imagery predominates in wisdom and worship texts. Psalms 1:3 declares of the righteous: “whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.”
Was the original verse about fig leaves or the fallacies of fabricating half truths to cover the errors made by choice.
Even, Proverbs 11:28 contrasts worldly trust with spiritual vitality: “He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.”
Or in Jeremiah 17:8 more echoes of the same promise for the man who trusts the Lord and the way of His righteousness: “its leaves are always green.”
A. Covenant of denial
Leaves appear as a warning of judgment and transience due to denial?
Where covenant infidelity dominates, the leaf becomes a metaphor of decline through dishonest denial.
- Isaiah 1:30 predicts Judah will be “like an oak whose leaf withers” after her rebellion.
- Leviticus 26:36 pictures disobedient Israel fleeing “as though pursued by the sound of a rustling leaf.”
- Isaiah 34:4 describes a cosmic judgment: as “the sky will be rolled up like a scroll, and all the stars will fall… like leaves from a vine.” So who or what are the stars in the heavens.
- Isaiah 64:6 links moral uncleanness with autumnal decay when leaves loose the clorfill process of giving us thee breath of life: “all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf.” what is the mammon of unrighteousness that offers the reward of unrighteousness?
- Jeremiah 8:13 announces fruitlessness and withered foliage on the fig tree—a sober warning to any generation that turns from the Lord for the kingdom of God is from generation to generation.
Footnotes
- ↑ 06491 פָקַח paqach paw-kakh’ a primitive root; v; [BDB-824b] {See TWOT on 1803 } AV-open 20; 20
- 1) to open (the eyes)
- 1a) (Qal)
- 1a1) to open (the eyes)
- 1a2) to open (the ears)
- 1a) (Qal)
- 1b) (Niphal) to be opened
- 1) to open (the eyes)
- ↑ 06213 עָשָׂה ‘asah [aw-saw’] a primitive root; v; [BDB-793b, BDB-796a] [{See TWOT on 1708 }] [{See TWOT on 1709 }] AV-do 1333, make 653, wrought 52, deal 52, commit 49, offer 49, execute 48, keep 48, shew 43, prepare 37, work 29, do so 21, perform 18, get 14, dress 13, maker 13, maintain 7, misc 154; 2633
- 1) to do, fashion, accomplish, make
- 1a) (Qal)
- 1a1) to do, work, make, produce
- 1a1a) to do
- 1a1b) to work
- 1a1c) to deal (with)
- 1a1d) to act, act with effect, effect
- 1a2) to make
- 1a2a) to make
- 1a2b) to produce
- 1a2c) to prepare
- 1a2d) to make (an offering)
- 1a2e) to attend to, put in order
- 1a2f) to observe, celebrate
- 1a2g) to acquire (property)
- 1a2h) to appoint, ordain, institute
- 1a2i) to bring about
- 1a2j) to use
- 1a2k) to spend, pass
- 1a1) to do, work, make, produce
- 1b) (Niphal)
- 1b1) to be done
- 1b2) to be made
- 1b3) to be produced
- 1b4) to be offered
- 1b5) to be observed
- 1b6) to be used
- 1c) (Pual) to be made
- 1a) (Qal)
- 2) (Piel) to press, squeeze
- 1) to do, fashion, accomplish, make
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 08384 תְּאֵן TavAlefNun të’en [teh-ane’] 08383 lies (iniquity) or (in the sing., fem.) 08385 תאנה TavAlefNunHey të’enah [teh-ay-naw’] occassion perhaps of foreign derivation; n f; [BDB-1061a] [{See TWOT on 2490 }] AV-fig tree 23, fig 16; 39
- 1) fig, fig tree
- ת Tav is a Seal of a Higher kingdom or realm through faith. The paradigm keter–malchut “The Crown of Sovereignty” from the Tree of Life spiritually linking worlds or realms through an unseen doorway of faith. The Aleph & Tav are the first and last letters. [door sign cross seal] (Numeric value: 400)
- א Alef Father-Son- begin- The Paradox: God and Man - (ox bull) [strength, leader, first] (Numeric value: 1)
- נ ן Nun Heir to the Throne, Aramaic fish in the Mem (fish moving in flowing waters) or in the Hebrew the Nun may mean the kingdom with a double Nun suggesting spiritual insight in two realms. [fish moving... Activity life] (Numeric value: 50)
- ↑ 05929 AlefLamedHey `aleh \@aw-leh'\@ from 05927 a word also spelled AlefLamedHey and appears as 0578 lament, 0579 deliver, 05927 offer up; but is translated up 676, offer 67, come 22, bring 18, ascend 15, etc. and 05930 also AlefLamedHey but translated burnt offering; n m; {See TWOT on 1624 @@ "1624a"} AV-leaf 12, branch 5, branches + 06086 1; 18
- 1) leaf, leafage עֲלֵ֣ה
- א Alef Father-Son- begin- The Paradox: God and Man - (ox bull) [strength, leader, first] (Numeric value: 1)
- ל Lamed means Aspiration of the Heart or to learn or even direct like a shepherd. It has to do with what the Hand produces, [hand is די YodDalet] or directs with staff, whip... like the tongue may direct. (Numeric value: 30)
- ה Hey Expression, Thought, Speech, Action. Manifest seeds of thought and life. [Emphasize, jubilation, window, fence] (Numeric value: 5)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 02290 חֲגוֹר ChetGimelVavReish chagowr [khag-ore’] or חגר ChetGimelReish chagor [khag-ore’] and (fem.) חגורה ChetGimelVavReishHey chagowrah [khag-o-raw’] or חגרה ChetGimelReish chagorah [khag-o-raw’] from 02296; n f; [BDB-292a] [{See TWOT on 604 @@ "604a" }] [{See TWOT on 604 @@ "604c" }] AV-girdle 3, apron 1, armour 1, gird 1; 6
1) girdle, belt
2) girdle, loin-covering, belt, loin-cloth, armour
- ח Chet The Life Force - Dynamic nature of - cause and effect - give life and live.[fence, thread, hedge, chamber...cycle] (Numeric value: 8)
- ג Gimel Reward and Punish, Cause and effect, 'justified repayment'. Do to others as they should do. Written like a Vav with a Yod as a "foot". Camel, [throwstick, pride, to lift up] (Numeric value: 3)
- ו Vav Connection, Connecting realms and worlds or the dividing veil between them. [nail... And, Add, secure, hook] (Numeric value: 6)
- ר Reish Process of Clarification The "head" or "beginning". Life's revelation. [Head... Person head highest] (Numeric value: 200).
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 08383 תְּאֻן TavAlefNun të’un [teh-oon’] or (plural) תאנים TavAlefNunYodMem from 0205 (78) AlefVavNun iniquity; n m p; [BDB-20a] [{See TWOT on 48 @@ "48b" }] AV-lies 1; 1
- 1) toil
- ת Tav is a Seal of a Higher kingdom or realm through faith. The paradigm keter–malchut “The Crown of Sovereignty” from the Tree of Life spiritually linking worlds or realms through an unseen doorway of faith. The Aleph & Tav are the first and last letters. [door sign cross seal] (Numeric value: 400)
- א Alef Father-Son- begin- The Paradox: God and Man - (ox bull) [strength, leader, first] (Numeric value: 1)
- נ ן Nun Heir to the Throne, Aramaic fish in the Mem (fish moving in flowing waters) or in the Hebrew the Nun may mean the kingdom with a double Nun suggesting spiritual insight in two realms. [fish moving... Activity life] (Numeric value: 50)
- ↑ 08385 תַּאֲנָה ta’anah [tah-an-aw’] or תאנה to’anah [to-an-aw’] from 0578 lament, 0579 deliver, 05927 offer up; n f; [BDB-58b] [{See TWOT on 126 @@ "126a" }] [{See TWOT on 126 @@ "126b" }] AV-occasion 2; 2
- 1) occasion, time of heat or oestrous or copulation, sexual drive (of animal)
- 2) occasion, opportunity (for a quarrel)
- ↑ 03847 לָבַשׁ labash law-bash’ or לבשׁ labesh law-bashe’ a primitive root; v; [BDB-527b] {See TWOT on 1075 } AV-clothe 51, put on 22, put 18, array 6, wear 4, armed 3, came 3, apparel 1, apparelled 1, clothed them 1, came upon 1, variant 1; 112
- 1) to dress, wear, clothe, put on clothing, be clothed
- 1a) (Qal)
- 1a1) to put on clothes, be clothed, wear
- 1a2) to put on, be clothed with (fig.)
- 1b) (Pual) to be fully clothed
- 1c) (Hiphil) to clothe, array with, dress
- 1a) (Qal)
- 1) to dress, wear, clothe, put on clothing, be clothed