About 15 years ago I connected my interest in plants to my faith. I became a Master Gardener and much has transpired since. Depending on whose count you use there are over 200 plants in the Bible, many mentioned by name, some by inference. Three varieties of wheat are part of the count whereas I count wheat as one though there are other plants such as emmer and durum that fall into that class. My count is around 185.
If you were to hold the book in your hand you would find that Theophrastus of Eresos (371-287 BC) is considered the Father of Horticulture. He wrote 227 treatises which seems marvelous for his time. You would also learn of the role plants have in metaphor, what I call "the spiritual language of the Bible". Usually it means there's more to it than meets the eye of the passage. What did Jesus really mean when he spoke of a withered fig tree. He was referencing Israel and their fall from God.
You would learn that gardening began around 8000 BC, the Pleistocene Era, in the Near East (which is Israel and surrounding countries. You would learn of the Jewish Feasts and Calendar that compose their Sacred Year, and how plants are an integral part of the observance. For example: Passover begins with the barley harvest, and the wheat harvest brings them to Pentecost, six or so weeks later.
Whenever you see a painting of Adam and Eve in the Garden what fruit does Eve have in her hand. If you say "apple" you are wrong. The Hebrew word yields "fruit of the tree", not apple. Painters have taken license to depict the fruit as an apple but anyone who grows them seriously knows it was too hot in Israel's summer to support the apple plant back then. Apples have been hybridized and today are found in Israel.
The book is full of interesting plants that speak to horticulture, faith and, in particular, how important plants were in Jesus' teachings of Parable.
If you'd like to contact me, my email is vschanilec@comcast.net.
In Faith (and happy gardening),
Vernon Schanilec
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