תְּאֵנָה (te.e.nah)
te.e.nah
fig
H:N-FQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 32 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-F
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun te’enah refers simply to the fig or the fig tree. It appears thirty-two times in the Old Testament, with significant usage in Jeremiah, Joel, and Isaiah. The word covers both the fruit itself and the plant that bears it, functioning as a concrete symbol of agricultural life in ancient Israel.
Its meaning extends beyond botany to represent peace and security. When prophets describe sitting under one’s vine and fig tree, they depict a state of tranquil prosperity free from fear or conflict. This image appears in Micah 4:4 and Zechariah 3:10, marking the ideal condition of restored community life.
Translators often use this word to illustrate divine judgment or blessing. In Jeremiah 24, God uses two baskets of figs—one good and one bad—to distinguish between those who remain faithful and those who face exile. Similarly, Joel employs the withering of the fig tree to signal national disaster.
The term carries no complex theological ambiguity. It stands as a straightforward reference to a vital crop in the ancient Near East. Its presence in Scripture highlights the connection between physical sustenance and spiritual well-being in the biblical worldview.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word for fig in Scripture is more than a botanical term; it represents the tangible blessings of God’s provision. In the ancient Near East, a healthy fig tree meant security and peace. When prophets spoke of sitting under one’s own vine and fig tree, they described a life free from fear, where families could enjoy the fruit of their labor without threat. This simple image reminds us that true prosperity is not just wealth, but the quiet confidence of safety and community.
Yet the fig also carries a warning. In Jeremiah 24, God uses baskets of good and bad figs to illustrate how people respond to His discipline. The good figs represent those who remain faithful even in exile, while the bad ones symbolize stubborn rejection. This teaches us that our spiritual condition is revealed not by grand gestures, but by whether we yield to God’s refining work or harden our hearts against it.
Jesus later cursed a fig tree that had leaves but no fruit, highlighting the danger of outward religion without inner reality. We are invited to examine our own lives: do we produce the sweetness of kindness and truth, or do we merely show green leaves? May you find rest in God’s provision and bear fruit that honors Him.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 32 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- figs4×
- own fig tree/ his3×
- a fig tree3×
- the/ figs2×
- the/ fig tree2×
- and/ the/ fig tree2×
- and/ fig tree2×
- [was] figs2×
- [the] fig tree2×
- to the/ fig tree1×
- on/ a fig tree1×
- on the/ fig tree1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- תְּאֵנִ֑ים3×
- תְּאֵנִים֙2×
- תְּאֵנָת֖/וֹ1×
- תְּאֵנָת֔/וֹ1×
- תְּאֵנָֽה\׃1×
- תְּאֵנָ֥ה1×
- תְּאֵנִ֣ים1×
- תְּאֵֽנָת֔/וֹ1×
- תְּ֭אֵנָה1×
- תְאֵנָ֣ה1×
- תְאֵנָ֔ה1×
- תְאֵנִ֔ים1×
Key Verses
-
Genesis 3:7
Their eyes were opened, and they both knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together, and made coverings for themselves.
This is the first mention of figs, where Adam and Eve use leaves to cover their shame, marking the beginning of human attempts to hide from God.
-
Jeremiah 24:1
Yahweh showed me, and behold, two baskets of figs were set before Yahweh’s temple, after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
God uses two baskets of figs as a visual metaphor to distinguish between Judah’s exiles who will return and those who remain in rebellion.
-
Joel 1:7
He has laid my vine waste, and stripped my fig tree. He has stripped its bark, and thrown it away. Its branches are made white.
The stripping of the fig tree serves as a vivid sign of national disaster and divine judgment on Israel’s unfaithfulness.
-
II Kings 20:7
Isaiah said, “Take a cake of figs.” They took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
A cake of figs is used as a medicinal poultice, showing the fruit’s practical value in healing King Hezekiah’s boil.