Thursday, February 28, 2008

Hey God, What's the Deal with Figs?

Jeremiah 29:17
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.

Psalm 78:47
He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore-figs with sleet.

Matthew 21:18-20
Now in the morning as he (Jesus) returned into the city, he was hungry. And when he saw a fig tree by the road, he came to it, and found nothing on it, but leaves only, and said to it, Let no fruit grow on you henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon has the fig tree withered away!

Mark 11:12-14
The next day, when they came from Bethany, he (Jesus) was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if perhaps he might find any thing on it: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said to it, No man eat fruit of you hereafter forever. And his disciples heard it.

I wonder, do Christians eat fig newtons?

8 comments:

coreydbarbarian said...

and whatabout that one xmas carol, "we wish ya a merry christmas"?

one whole verse is basically, "now give us some figgy pudding, now give us some figgy pudding, so give us some friggin pudding..."

and the next verse is something like, "we won't go until we get some,.." over & over.

really does make ya wonder, doesn't it?

Ceroill said...

Ok, here's a supposition. In the biblical stuff, it might be a matter of convenient translation, like in the Garden of Eden section. Of course if it is a true translation, perhaps that is the reason for all of this anti fig feeling: That the wicked Adam & Eve used fig leaves to cover their newly discovered shame.

As to Figgy Pudding, that's from a British song, long after Biblical times. But I imagine that many folk are not so intimately familiar with the bible as to realize He hates figs.

BAWDYSCOT said...

Yeah, NPR did a story on figgy pudding during the holiday season. I remember at the time that if I got any it would end up in the same place as the fruitcake.

Ceroill said...

Yeah, it's a distant relative. In British parlance a 'pudding' is not what it is here. It's more a kind of cake like dessert. Here's a Figgy Pudding Recipe

csm said...

I do so enjoy watching the path that is wound around these topics in our comments... and that recipe for figgy pudding doesn't sound half bad to me!

csm said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
csm said...

Anybody remember the big fig newton ads of the 1970s?

Oooey, gooey, rich and chewy
inside
Tender cakey, golden flakey
outside
You wrap the inside in the outside
It it good?
Darn tootin'
It's the big - fig - Newton

Here's the tricky part - The Big Fig Newton!

Ceroill said...

YUP!