The sycamine tree ( ''sykaminοs'') is a tree mentioned in both classical Hebrew literature (

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

9:10;

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

'' Demai'' 1:1, ''et al.'') and in Greek literature. The tree is also known by the names sycamore fig tree (''

Ficus sycomorus ''Ficus sycomorus'', called the sycamore fig or the fig-mulberry (because the leaves resemble those of the mulberry), sycamore, or sycomore, is a fig species that has been cultivated since ancient times. The term '' sycamore'' spelled with an A ...

''), and fig-mulberry. It appears also in Luke 17:6 and 19:4 of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

. The Hebrew word for the tree is ''shiḳmah'' (sing.) (), ''shiḳmīn'' (pl.) (), having nearly the same phonemes in Greek ( ''sykomorea'') Others, however, identify the tree as mulberry tree, found in two species, the Black Mulberry (''Morus nigra'') and the White Mulberry (''Morus alba''), which are common in Palestine. It is in the same

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

as the

fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

-tree.

The bricks are fallen, but we will build with hewn stones; the sycamores are cut down, but cedars will we put in their place.

The trees were once very common along the

lowlands Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of p ...

and coastal plains of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. During the Second Temple period, sycamore fig trees grew in Jericho, but when passers-by would come along and appropriate the tree branches unto themselves, the owners came and dedicated the trees, in their entirety, to the

Temple treasury The temple treasury was a storehouse (Hebrew אוצר 'otsar) first of the tabernacle then of the Jerusalem Temples mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. The term "storehouse" is generic, and also occurs later in accounts of life in Roman Palestine where ...

as a dedicatory offering in order to prevent their theft. The sycamine is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

to semi-deciduous tree and sheds its fruit in a prolific manner, by reason of which the

Sages of Israel Chazal or Ḥazal ( he, חז״ל), an acronym for the Hebrew "Ḥakhameinu Zikhronam Liv'rakha" (, "Our Sages, may their memory be blessed"), refers to all Jewish sages of the Mishna, Tosefta and Talmud eras, spanning from the times of the fina ...

prohibited a Jewish planter from planting such trees within the radius of 50

cubits The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was primarily associated with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites. The term ''cubit'' is found in the Bible regarding No ...

from his neighbor's cistern. All sycamines that currently grow in the Land of Israel (''Ficus sycomorus'') are believed to be invasive species, but which are now cultivated in Israel. The tree is native to East Africa. It is thought that the species was once endemic to the Land of Israel. Another species of sycamine endemic to the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia and Yemen is '' Ficus vasta''., citing J.R.I. Wood (1997), ''A Handbook of the Yemen Flora'', Aylesbury, UK

Notes

References

{{eastons, wstitle=Sycamine tree Trees Plants in the Bible Flora of Israel Flora of Palestine (region) Fruit trees New Testament words and phrases Edible fruits Ficus Plant common names