Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

SYCAMORE

Ficus sycomorus L., the sycamore fig, a hardy tree that grows up to 14 m. (45 ft.) tall. This tropical tree grew abundantly in the Shephelah (1 Kgs. 10:27; 2 Chr. 1:15; 9:27). It is not the American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), the Old World sycamore (Platanus orientalis), or the sycamine (mulberry, Morus Nigra L.), as earlier thought. Perhaps the most famous sycamore tree is the one Zacchaeus climbed in order to see Jesus (Luke 19:4; Gk. sykomoréa).

Both the wood and the fruit of the sycamore tree are valuable. The soft, porous wood was used in construction of Egyptian tombs and coffins. The sycamore fig is inferior to the common fig, Ficus carica L., but was cultivated and eaten in ancient times. About three days before the sycamore fig harvest, a gash was made in the fruit to hasten ripening. Amos was, by profession, a dresser of sycamore figs (Amos 7:14; Heb. šiqmâ).

The sycamore fig of biblical times was fertilized by wasps. Modern sycamores produce seedless figs and grow only in cultivated form.

Megan Bishop Moore

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

SYCAMORE

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)