The history of the fig in the holy land from ancient times to the present day

Abstract

The fig (Ficus carica L.)2 has been cultivated in the Holy Land for more than 5000 years. Its Hebrew name is "te'ena" and it is much the same in other Semitic languages: in Arabic "tin"; in Aramaic "teinta." The Latin is "ficus," most probably from a Hebrew source, from "paga," which means the unripe fruit. The Latin thereupon gives its different names to the fig in European languages: in French "figue"; in German "Feige"; in Italian "fico"; and in Spanish "higo." Before the fig was domesticated, it grew wild in the Holy Land, and the people chose the best varieties for cultivation. Even today, we often find the wild fig, or cultivated figs that have reverted to a wild state, in rock-crevices along water-courses-along the Jordan River and around the Dead Sea, for instance. Presumably they originate from seeds carried either by man or animal. In the excavations of Gezer, remnants of figs were found dating back to the Neolithic era (about 5000 B.C.). De Candolle says: "In our times the fig grows in a wild or semi-wild state over a wide area that has its centre in Syria (and the Land of Israel), that is to say, from Persia and Afghanistan all over the Mediterranean zone as far as the Canarv Islands." Other investigators are persuaded