Bible quotations from the King James Version (KJV) and others where indicated: Jerusalem Bible (JB); Revised Standard Version (RSV)
The tree is the climactic life form of the botanical world. We love and celebrate them. Our natural environment is enhanced by their beauty and variety.. They have economic as well as climatic and aesthetic benefits. A world without trees would be poorer indeed. Trees, as it will be seen, are the culmination of spiritual practice as well. They are a predominate symbol in literature, folklore, and religion. The Judeo-Christian scriptures and others are full of tree references in different contexts. This supreme symbol has the power to move us beyond the physical sense and to guide our awareness to deeper levels of consciousness.
Genesis begins with two trees, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In the Genesis record, God graciously provided “every herb bearing seed, and, which is upon the face of the earth, and every tree, in the which is the tree which is the fruit of a tree bearing seed; to you it shall be meat (Genesis 1:29).”; and in 2:9, “every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” The tree of life [JB notes: ”a symbol of immortality”] contains the knowledge of which man may live forever. Its potential and its deeper symbolism will be explored. Eating the fruit of this second tree, however, marks Adam and Eve’s departure from the garden and symbolizes their loss of innocence. Here is the question: in reading the primitive creation story, if Adam and Eve never ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, how were they supposed to know that obeying God was good and disobeying was bad? One explanation goes this way: “It works the same way when you don’t listen to your parents as a child. You have consequences that you face when you don’t listen to them and the Bible makes it clear that the wages of sin is death. Death might not look like what you think all the time, but it’s there. There’s death of a relationship, death of an opportunity, death of romance, and death of a natural life. Their disobedience caused both a spiritual and natural death to occur, even though they didn’t physically die right then and there, they still died when they weren’t supposed to, but that’s what sin does. Takes and destroys. So when you don’t listen to your parents, you know that’s called disobedience, and disobeying is bad.” Jerusalem Bible notes provide this explanation: “It is the power of deciding for himself what is good and evil and of acting accordingly, a claim to complete moral independence for which man refuses to recognize his status as a created being. The first sin was an attack on God’s sovereignty, a sin of pride. This rebellion is described in concrete terms as the transgression of an express command of God for which the text uses an image of a forbidden fruit…..Man has sinned, constituting himself arbiter of what is good and what is evil; he has usurped the divine privilege.” From here we move to the wealth of tree references in the Judeo-Christian scriptural record.
The website biblehub.com provides some useful insights in The Loss of the Tree of Life: “1.The tree of life signifies the fulness of human existence—that
complete exercise of every power, that roundness and perfectness of being which was in God’s mind when He made man in His own image. It represents not mere endurance, not merely an existence which is going to last for ever. It represents quality more than quantity, or quantity only as it is the result of quality. To eat of the tree of life is to enter into and occupy the fulness of human existence, to enjoy and exercise a life absolute and perfect, to live in the full completeness of our powers. We can feel how this luxuriousness and fulness are naturally embodied under the figure of a tree. In many myths of many races, the tree has seemed the fittest symbol of the life of man; and the tree perfect in God’s garden is the truest picture of man‘s whole nature complete under His care. 2. Man was banished from the Garden of Eden. The tree of life which was in the midst of the Garden of Eden was the one thing that was now going to be safeguarded by the presence of the Cherubim and by the flaming sword. We must not suppose that there was anything undesirable now in the tree of life as such—that is to say, we must not imagine that there was a change in the character of its value. Sometimes we are inclined to read the story as though it meant that it was no longer desirable that man should take of the tree of life. What the narrative really does mean is that it was no longer desirable that man should take of the tree of life on the old conditions. The old conditions were conditions of ease. That which we have is never the tree of life to us. The tree of life is always the thing which we must reach forward to attain; and if our condition of life is that we are satisfied to take these fruits which grow upon the tree of life, what is according to the ordinary conventional acceptation the best thing, the correct thing, the most important thing, let us not be satisfied with that. Let us look over once more where the protecting rampart of fire and of sword stands between us and some more desirable object.”
Trees are favorite gathering spots in our back yards, in public parks, in forests. It was under a tree that Abraham entertained his mysterious visitors (Genesis 18:4,8), assumed in some accounts to be angels. In the Exodus journey, the tree is a means of purification: the bitter waters of Marah were made sweet by a tree showed to them by the Lord and cast into it (Exodus 15:23-25, translated elsewhere as “wood” or “log”). Even in warfare God commands that trees which yield food are not to be destroyed, concluding with the beautiful passage “…for the tree of the field is man’s life (Deuteronomy 20:19-20).”
Solomon, among his many legendary attributes, was knowledgeable in botany. 1 Kings 4:33 records, “he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall…”
A frequently occurring expression in poetry is “then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the Lord…” It appears in 1 Chronicles 16:33 and is repeated in Psalms 96:12. Isaiah 44:23 implores the forest to “break forth into singing”, with “every tree therein.”.
Trees yield their fruits. “Firstfruits” denotes the priority of presenting our gifts to God (and to those in need), in Nehemiah 10:35, “And to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the Lord.” This passage goes on to include “the firstborn of our sons and cattle, and the firstlings of our herds and our flocks”, unto the house of the Lord, dedicating them. It has an important place in the Judaic calendar and its rituals.
Job 14:7-12 associates the tree with hope. This, it should be noted, was before belief in resurrection was accepted, but it points the way (see the post A Rehearsal for the Resurrection: An Evolution of Thought). Even when cut down, its shoots can sprout; it can scent the water and send out buds and branches again. This image is in opposition to that of man, who in Job’s view, remains lifeless, and breathes his last, “sleeping with the fathers”. Job 15:30-33 notes pessimistically (JB) “A flame will wither up his tender buds; the wind will carry off his blossom….His boughs will wither before their time, and his branches never again be green. Like a vine he will let his unripe clusters fall, like an olive shed [“will carry off”] his blossom.” [JB notes: “At the beginning the text has ‘he will not escape from darkness’.”] This powerful analogy is reflected in other traditions, as we will see.
Psalms 1:3 extols the strength of our establishment in God, “like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither [KJV notes: “fade”]; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”; and in 52:8, “I am like a green olive tree [JB adds “growing”] in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.” A significant set of references includes the beauty of trees and growing things and the exaltation of Gods kingdom: “as gardens by the river’s side…which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters”, as in Psalms 104:16-17, earlier in Numbers 24:6, and reappearing in Jeremiah 11:16 (JB) “A spreading olive tree, so fair, so sturdy, was Yahweh’s name for you. [and in rebuke to those who worship alien gods] With the roar of a great wind he sets its foliage on fire; its branches burn.” Other references (here, to a vine) include Psalms 80:8-11 (KJV) “Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. Thou preparest room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.” This theme occurs in Isaiah’s well-known song of the vineyard, chapter 5. Expressing the abundance of creation in the natural world, Psalms 104:16 reads, “The trees of the Lord are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted.” Contained within the same passage is “he watereth the hills from his chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his works”, and “he causeth the grass to grow.”
Wisdom has many attributes in the scriptures, including that of “a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her” in Proverbs 3:18, and in 11:30 describing “the fruit of righteousness” [JB “virtue”], also “a wholesome tongue” [JB “the tongue that soothes”] in 15:4.
The poetry of the Song of Solomon (or “Song of Songs”) 2:3 describes the beloved as like an apple tree, under which [JB “in whose longed-for shade”] the poet sat down “with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.” There is promise, too, in 17:11, where “In that day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish…” Some interpret this as a prophecy of the Messiah, but it may also be seen as expressive of the futility of human effort, reserving that to the will of God.
What follows may seem to be a diversion, but the conflict regarding the emerging Judaic religion and the existing Canaanite practice occupies an extensive narrative in the Old Testament and the message of the prophets, Isaiah17:7-8 [JB title: “An end to idolatry”] prophesies that man will look to his creator and no longer to the “sacred poles and solar pillars his hands have made.” More about poles, pillars (and groves) to come. The end of such practice is foreseen in 15:6 where “the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.” In 56:3 he quotes the eunuch as saying, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” Yet hope is held out, in 65:22, where “as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.”
Jeremiah continues the message of destruction, where in 7:20 the anger of the Lord “shall be poured out “upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.” 11:19 proclaims, “Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may no more be remembered.” Even a casual Bible reader will detect the frequent notion of the anger of God, in opposition to God’s loving nature revealed by Jesus and in the more enlightened passages of the scriptures. (This transformation is explored in the post Farewell, Angry God.) 17:5-6 describes the desolation of one who “trusteth in man, and whose heart departeth from the Lord” as “like the heath of the desert”, who “shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness.” This, unlike the anger of God, is what man brings upon himself. But it is followed by a blessing upon the man who puts his trust in God, who is like a tree by the water, thrusting its roots into the stream and feeling no alarm, remaining green in the drought and continuing to bear fruit (see later references to Jesus’ teaching on fruitfulness).
Ezekiel presents the parable (17:22-24) of the Lord God taking “the highest branch of the high cedar”, planting it on a high mountain, where “fowl of every wing shall dwell under the shadow of its branches.” The concluding verse affirms that the fate of the tree (Israel) is in God’s hands, whether it withers or flourishes. It is a cautionary tale for his people, for God’s power has “brought down the high tree…exalted the low tree…dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish”, for “I the Lord have spoken and have done it.” So it is for us, in the midst of human ambition and world events, to be mindful of God’s ultimate power and the call to live our lives in reverence to this greater reality. It speaks to us today as well as for those ancient people.
Daniel’s parable (in chapter 4) of a tree, is more specific. Seen in a dream, it symbolizes the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar and its impending destruction, where the tree will be reduced to a stump if, in Daniel’s words, the king does not “break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity [British spelling}.” In conclusion, verses 23-24 of Daniel’s prophecy proclaim that his kingdom will be kept for him until he understands that heaven rules all, showing mercy to the poor. JB notes read that the virtuous actions here refer both to relation to God as well as legal justice and almsgiving. This ancient vision is something that we, too, may learn.
The Book of Hosea concludes (chapter 14) with the tree representing Israel’s call to repentance, It promises, “his branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell [like the refreshing aroma of cedar or cypress, symbol of life] as Lebanon” only if by the action of God their backsliding is healed—another message for us as well as those ancient people.
Again, Joel gives us the bad news: this repentance has not occurred, “the field is wasted”, “the corn is wasted….the harvest of the field is perished…the vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even also the trees of the field”. What has withered, as the prophet states, is joy, the inevitable result of departing from the path of the divine. Yet the promise remains: in 2:21-22 the Lord “will do great things….for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.” How consoling to end the message of the prophets with this affirmation! Will it stand true for us as well?
Trees, or groves as they are called in frequent passages, are extensively linked in the Old Testament to the existing Canaanite religion, and were both adapted and rejected by the emerging Judaism. They are associated with Baals (Baalim), gods of fertility to whom the early Israelites offered the produce of their soil, which they believed came as much from the gods of Canaan as from Yahweh. This aligns with the agricultural deities of several ancient cultures. Here is the connection: this worship pre-dates that of Yahweh and receives frequent mention throughout the Old Testament with pre-Judaic worship involving (in KJV) “groves”, “hill-shrines”, and “poles” [Greek: stelae; JB notes: “The sacred post, asherah, was the emblem of Ashera (Greek: Astarte), goddess of love and fecundity, and from her takes its name.”]. The gods associated with this practice, Asheroth (plural of Ashhera) and Baal relate to pagan worship, conducted in the “groves”. It is interpreted by some as the Moon Goddess, whose counterpart, Baal, or Baali, is possibly the Sun God (see the posts Start With the Sun and Stay With the Sun).
In Caananite religion, a pole, or a tree, was dedicated to the worship of Ashera. In Deuteronomy 16:22 is the prohibition” “You shall not set up a sacred pillar, for thy Lord your God hates them.” In Greek, the stele was an upright stone. wooden slab, or pillar. It was usually inscribed with a text or a design and used as a monument, grave marker, or boundary line in the ancient world. Beyond its Semitic use, it appears in Greek, Egyptian, and Mayan monuments, where it was used to record decrees, laws, or military victories. It was used as a tombstone to remember a dead person, and often showed their name, image, or life story. The Tel Dan Stele, discovered in 1993, refers to the House of David, and is evidence a Davidic dynasty existed. It is commonly seen in surviving Celtic monuments. Botanically, stele describes the vascular structure of higher plants (trees) responsible for transporting water. minerals, sugars, and organic nutrients.
As the cultures diverged, the Old Testament contains the record of a related series of references condemning trees and groves, along with “high places” and “poles”. The distinction between Judaic and Canaanite practice may not have been so rigid as is suspected; it depends on the purpose of the planting: Genesis 21:33 reads “And Abraham planting a grove [KJV notes “a tree”; JB, RSV “a tamarisk tree”] in Beersheba, and called there upon the name of the Lord, the everlasting God.” There is accommodation as well: Jeroboam allowed the hill-shrines to remain, although he remained faithful to the Lord all his life. This was to keep the people from making these sacrifices the center of worship in Jerusalem, with a separate set of priests (who were not Levites) appointed for this purpose. It is balanced by the prohibition also, in Genesis 15:21-22 (RSV) “You shall not plant any tree as an Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God which you shall make. And you shall not set up a pillar, which the Lord your God hates.”
The scriptures document this agreement and disagreement. As recorded in Hosea 2:16 [“no longer will she call me, ‘My Baal’ ”] the prophet reproached the Jews for applying the title to Jehovah. He said that they should have used the endearing title Ishi, which means “my husband”. His teaching underlies the search for spiritual purity, a departure from the “old religion”. Yet the relationship persists between these two streams of thought. Baali was used by the early Israelites for God as more or less as a synonym of adon, “Lord” and adonai (“My Lord”) still used as aliases of Yahweh, the Lord of Israel, and could be used legitimately as a title of YHWH (Yahweh). God’s attribute as a storm-god was expressed by the early Hebrews: witness the thunder and lightning which accompanied the theophany on Mount Sinai when God revealed himself to Moses (Exodus 19). Both Yahweh and Baal as storm gods is derived from the climatic activity of the region, and existed side by side, often with names which preserve the identity of both, such as Ishbaal, Eshbaal, or Baal-ladah, “man of Baal” (the name of Saul’s son), equivalent with the Yahwistic Eliadah in the Book of Samuel. Various translations of baal (lower case for common nouns used as descriptive terms), include “my lord”, “beloved” or “uncle”, also “lord”, “master”, or “owner”. Regardless of tradition, a reverence existed, as with all primitive people, for the supernatural force between agricultural abundance and the progression of the seasons. The overwhelming evidence suggests that the Hebrew and Ugaritic (Caananite) languages existed side by side without conflict. It is the theological tradition which has lagged behind, most evident in the Old Testament translations which have been handed down to us. It was only after the time of Solomon that the two traditions diverged and Baal was seen as the specific title of the Canaanite storm-god Hadad and avoided as an Israelite title for YHWH (Yahweh).
The extensive commonality throughout the linguistic environment regarding Yahweh and Baal is documented by JB notes to Hosea 2:18: “The name baal (‘master’) was also used of husbands. It had been from ancient times an element in certain proper names without any idolatrous significance Yahweh being the master to whom the bearer of the name was dedicated. It was as the traditions diverged that the association of the word with the Canaanite divinities made its use disreputable; hence Hosea forbids it in verse 2:19.” To cite another example, El Elyon, one of the Hebrew names of God. translated ss “God Most High”, also refers to the supreme head of the ancient Canaanite pantheon. El was the chief deity, creator, and patriarch of the gods in Ugaritic (Northwest Semitic language, closely related to ancient Hebrew, Phoenician, and Aramaic) and Canaanite texts. with El as the specific creator deity, and Elyon, “Most High” or “Exalted” describing absolute supremacy and sovereignty over all other divine beings. This can certainly be said of Yahweh as well.
The worship of Baal as the sun and Ashera as the moon (or as Jupiter and Venus) prevailed in the time of Moses and spread to the Israelites. It became the religion of the court and people of the ten tribes in 1 Kings and appears never to have been abolished among them. In 2 Kings 17:16, temples were erected to Baal and he was worshipped with much ceremony, Such practices included (2 Chronicles 33) carved images, enchantments and witchcraft, “making his children pass through the fire”, altars for all the host of heaven, and the practice of augury and divination, ” and dealing with ghosts and spirits.”. To oppose the previous idolatry of Moses, in 2 Kings 18:4, Hezekiah “broke up the bronze serpent Moses had made.”
Some authorities are not certain that the name Baal was definitely applied to Yahweh in early Israelite history. One view maintains that at first the name Baal was used by the Jews for their God, but as the struggle between the two religions developed, the name Baal was given up as a thing of shame. This seems to make sense in reading the Old Testament narrative. There are linguistic clues: names like Jerubbaal were changed to Jerubbosheth, the Hebrew bosheth meaning “shame”. This initial division of function, however, could not last; syncretism was inevitable. Far from being confined to the high places where his people worshiped, the approachability of Yahweh at the local shrines became well established as the blending of Yahweh and the baals proceeded. Such a process is commonplace in the history of religion.
The spiritualization of religious practice led to the destruction of that which did not specifically glorify Yahweh, the everlasting God. In Exodus 34:13-14 Moses is commanded by God to “destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves”, worshiping none other than the Lord whose name, in verse 34, “is jealous, is a jealous God.” In Deuteronomy 12:2-3 Moses was instructed to utterly destroy the places where other nations ”served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree [my emphasis]: And ye shall overthrow [KJV notes “break down”] their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.” The children of Israel, however, reverted to the earlier practice and, in Judges 3:7 “forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves.” This comes with punishment where, in 1 Kings 14:15 the Lord shall “root up Israel out of their good land…and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the Lord to anger.” The anger of the jealous God has once more been aroused. This, as previously mentioned, was an early phase in the evolution of the idea of a loving, beneficent God.
1 Kings 18 records the famous confrontation between Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal, where two bullocks are sacrificed and the names of both gods are invoked. The prophets of Baal called out “until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice” with no response. At this point Elijah calls upon the Lord, “that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their hearts back again.” The fire then comes down, consuming the burnt sacrifice along with the wood and the stones. This pattern of reversion/condemnation/restoration repeats itself in subsequent Old Testament passages, where (in 2 Kings 17:16) groves are made, incense is burned, molten images are created, the “host of heaven” is worshipped, and Baal is served, removed in Chapter 18 by Hezekiah. The prophet Isaiah looks to the day where a man “shall look to his maker, and his eyes shall have respect for the Holy One of Israel. And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, neither the groves, or the images.” Jeremiah condemns these sins of Judah “written with a pen of iron, with the point of a diamond”. Micah, too, prophesies (5:12-14) that the hand of the Lord shall cut off witchcrafts, soothsayers, graven images, and pluck up the groves. And so the pattern repeats itself. High places, groves, idols, altars of strange gods, names of graven images, and “the host of heaven” are worshipped and are then destroyed. It is the same as it has throughout our human history.
The contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal may have been more political than theological. A strong party of Yahweh’s devotees refused to be assimilated. By the time the local baals had been largely absorbed, their agricultural functions had been taken over into a syncretic blend, and Elijah raised no protest against the worship of Yahweh at the high places, such as Carmel. The conflict which he led broke out over a foreign baal which was supported by royal authority and symbolized the entire system of alien customs, selfish luxury, and the commercialism that threatened Yahweh’s worship and social justice. Elijah stood in vehement opposition to the luxurious court, the collapse of the old simplicities, the conscription of farmers and shepherds into military service, mounting taxation, the decay of the old nomadic ideals of brotherhood. ‘Yahweh against Baal’ was identified in his mind not so much as with a theological discussion as with a social revolt. Here was not simply monotheism but ethical monotheism. Elijah on Mount Carmel clearly distinguished Yahweh from Baal, crying ‘How long go ye limping between the two sides? If Yahweh be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.”
This worship was also found in Phoenician colonies. As an interesting footnote, the religion of the ancient British islands much resembled this ancient worship of Baal and may have been derived from it. The Babylonian Bel (or Belus) in Isaiah 46:1 is essentially identical with Baal. The plural name, Baalim, is found frequently. JB notes to Judges 6:1 read “The story of Gideon is instructive of Israel’s condition at the time. The Hebrews had taken to agriculture and, like the other settle peoples, were threatened by nomad incursions. To some extent they had adopted the worship of the Baalim, the local gods who guaranteed the annual yield of wheat and oil. A select few remained faithful to Yahweh….” It is interesting that, after the Babylonian exile, the Jews never returned to the false gods, and the practices that were common among the Israelites before Jerusalem was destroyed.
When Christianity moved into northern Europe, the old shrines of the pre-Christian deities, although sometimes abolished, were often taken over and absorbed into the new faith. The Christmas tree received such a conversion. Tribes in northern Europe revered sacred trees, and evergreens were used in Solstice celebrations to symbolize life, as well as to ward off evil spirits, ghosts, and illness during the dark days of winter. In Celtic and other ancient cultures, the winter solstice was observed as the beginning of brighter days ahead, indicating that the Sun God was regaining strength. Because evergreen trees retain their color through all four seasons, they were displayed and embraced in the solstice as a reminder of warmer months to come. Druid priests decorated their temples with evergreen boughs. The early missionaries redirected this observance to the birth of Christ, thus merging the two traditions. As with Ashera/Baal/Yahweh, there was coexistence and compromise.
May I add that those of us who are gardeners plant and care for growing things glorify God in this way. The well-known poem by Dorothy Frances Gurney (1913) reads:
“The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,—
One is nearer God’s heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.”
.
Moving to the New Testament, John the Baptist concerns himself, as does Jesus, with trees, specifically their fruits. He implores his listeners, in Matthew 3:7-10 (repeated in Luke 3:7-9) to bring forth those fruits suitable for repentance, with the warning that “the axe is laid unto the root of the trees”, and those which do not bear good fruit “are hewn down, and cast into the fire.” Jesus places the emphasis where it should lie, in the “fruition”, the spiritual development, of the disciple. Each of us is a tree, and the tree is known by the fruit it bears. Those which do not bear good fruit are “hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them (Matthew 7:19-20, repeated in Luke 6:43-45).” He gives us a choice: “Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt and its fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by its fruit.” (JB) “People do not pick figs from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles. A good man draws what is good from the store in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of that which fills his heart (Matthew 12:33).” Confession of sin is the key, for while we will sin, we must acknowledge this and bring forth “fruits worthy of repentance”, for the consequence is that “every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire (Luke 3:7-9).”
Jesus presents another memorable image, the much-loved parable of the mustard seed, worn as jewelry by many as a symbol of hope. In Luke 13:18-19, “although small, grows into a great tree, such that birds can nest in its branches. So it may be with a life lived with faith. This faith (Luke 17:5-6) is such that by it a sycamore tree (in JB a mulberry) may be “plucked up by the root…and be planted in the sea…” Also, by spiritual discernment one can apprehend the signs of the times, as the seasons can be determined by observing the fig and other trees (Luke 21:29-31). On the way to Calvary he offers us a cryptic comment on the coming judgment (Luke 23:30), that if green wood is burned like this, what will happen when it is dry? JB notes interpret this as if wood that is not meant to be burnt is burnt (alluding to Christ’s condemnation), what will happen to the dry wood (the truly guilty)?
Beginning in Acts, the tree becomes the symbol of the cross, where Jesus is “raised up…whom ye slew, and hanged on a tree (Acts 5:30, repeated in 10:39)”. 1 Peter 2:24 reads: “Who in his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes we are healed.” The timing of the removal of Jesus’ body from the cross is taken from Deuteronomy 21:23, where a body hanged on a tree should not remain there overnight and must be buried the same day.
This symbolism recalls poet Sydney Lanier’s beautiful Ballad of Trees and the Master, set to music by George Whitefield Chadwick:
“Into the woods my Master went,
Clean forspent, forspent.
Into the woods my Master came,
Forspent with love and shame.
But the olives they were not blind to Him,
The little gray leaves were kind to Him:
The thorn-tree had a mind to Him
When into the woods He came.
Out of the woods my Master went,
And He was well content.
Out of the woods my Master came,
Content with death and shame.
When Death and Shame would woo Him last,
From under the trees they drew Him last:
‘Twas on a tree they slew Him–last
When out of the woods He came.”
The cross as a tree continues in Galatians 3:13, where “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” The Apostle Paul explores this theology in the Book of Galatians and elsewhere in his epistles.
The Book of Jude, like the Old Testament prophets, offers a word of judgment to those who lack spiritual discernment, in verse 12 “clouds without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots (In JB, “already dead and then rooted up in the winter”).”
The Tree of Life makes its final appearance in Revelation, where to those who overcome Christ “give to eat of the tree of life, which in the midst of the paradise of God (Revelation 2:7).” The tree of life in the Garden of Eden has come full circle. It grows “in the midst of the street of the City of God. It bore “twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:2).”
From here we move closer to the deeper psychological reality of the tree of life. It is of note that (at least) three ancient traditions contain well-developed and complementary concepts of the tree of life, underlying its universality and relevance. It is shared by the Sanskrit scriptures, Kabalistic Judaism, and the Northern tribes of Europe. John Grimes’ Dictionary of Sanskrit Terms identifies the Ashvattha (Ashwattha, Akshaya Vata) Tree. is as the pipal. or sacred fig tree, also called the world tree. Its etymology comes from the verb root stha, “to stand”, “to exist”, and ash”=that which is constantly moving, flickering”, Note that this eternal tree of life has roots above, in heaven, and its branches below. It symbolizes consciousness, the life force, the nervous system of man. In Vedic philosophy, its leaves are songs: those who know the songs know the Vedas. It is an image of the brain, the wheel of samsara, which drives reincarnation, and of Purusha, the cosmic person. The Bhagavad Gita (10:26) reads “Among trees I am the tree of life [the Ashwattha], and of heavenly seers…” Botanically, the Holy Fig Tree, the Banyan, is the image for this tree of enlightenment.
Flora in general play a central role in the Indian sacred culture. Hendrik Willemsz writes: “In a growing tree, whose delicate roots penetrate ever more deeply into the earth, the crown, too, will go on developing: a similar interplay seems to take place in this Great Process of coming to ever Greater Consciousness.” Two varieties of the fig (called Ashvatha in Sanskrit), the Banyan tree and the Peepal tree are the most revered in the Indian tradition, and both are considered the trees of life. The Banyan symbolizes fertility and is worshipped by those wanting children. It is also referred to as the tree of immortality in the previous Hindu scriptures. The Peepal (Ficus religiosa) is a very large tree. Its bark is light grey, smooth and peels in patches. Its heart-shaped leaves have long, tapering tips. The slightest breeze makes them rustle. The fruit is purple when ripe. The Peepal is the earliest-known depicted tree in India: a seal discovered at Mohenjodaro, one of the cities of the Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3000 BC – 1700 BC), shows it being worshipped. During the Vedic period, its wood was used to make fire by friction. Ashwatha is sacred to Hindus as well as Buddhists. It literally means “Where horses stood” (ashwa+tha). Shankaracharya interprets this tree as representing the entire cosmos. He interprets it to indicate “One which does not remain the same tomorrow”, or the universe itself. Like that which it symbolizes, the tree is quite remarkable because it grows both upwards as well as top to bottom. The branches themselves morph into roots, so even if the original tree decays and perishes, its branches underneath are young and continue to enclose the parent. This eternal life symbolized by the Peepal tree has inspired many Indian philosophers and Hindu thought. Besides harboring thousands of birds, insects, and providing shade to animals and humans, its foliage is very rich in protein and the bark of the tree is used in several native medicinal drugs. There was a time in India when a Peepal tree was planted in the premises of every temple, and was regarded as the Tree of Life. Some believe that the tree houses the Trimurti [similar to the Christian Trinity], the roots being Brahma, the trunk Vishnu and the leaves Shiva. The gods are said to hold their councils under this tree and so it is associated with spiritual understanding [vijnana]. The Peepal is also closely linked to Krishna. In the Bhagavad Gita, he says: “Among trees, I am the ashvatha.”
The Upanishads and other Sanskrit scriptures provide their support. Brihad Aranyaka 3:9:27-28 connects the tree with physical anatomy (title: “Man, a tree growing from Brahma”) “As a tree of the forest…his hairs are leaves, his skin the outer bark, from his skin blood, sap from the bark flows forth…his pieces of flesh are under-layers of wood….A tree, when it is felled, grows up, from the root, more new again [similar o Job, here a possible reference to reincarnation or resurrection]; a mortal, when cut down by death—from what root does he grow up? [Translator Robert Ernest Hume’s note invites the Job comparison]. These scriptural references are by far the deepest of any. “Say not ‘from semen [retas],’ for that is produced by the living. As the tree, forsooth, springing from seed, clearly arises without having died [the eternal abode in Brahma?]. If by the roots they should pull up the tree, it would not come into being again….When born, indeed, he is not born [again]. Who would beget him?” [not returning, i.e. “stream-winning”, or reaching nirvana]. Katha 6:1 (“The world-tree rooted in Brahman”) reads: “Its root is above, its branches below—this eternal fig-tree! That (root) indeed is the Pure [shuddha]. That is Brahma. That indeed is called the Immortal. On it all the worlds do rest, and no one goes beyond it.” (Shvetasvatara 6:6): “Higher and other than the world-tree, time, and forms is He from whom this expanse proceeds.” (Maitri 6:4) “For thus it has been said , ‘The three-quartered Brahma has its roots above. [Hume:“See Katha 6:1 for the eternal fig-tree with its root above and its branches below.”] Its branches are space [akasha], wind, fire, water, earth, and the like. This Brahma has the name of ‘the Lone Fig-tree.’ Belonging to It is the splendor which is the yon sun, and the splendor too of the syllable Om. Therefore one should worship it with Om continually. He is the only enlightener of a man.’ For thus it has been said:—That syllable, indeed is holy (punya). That syllable, indeed, is supreme. By knowing that syllable, indeed, whatever one desires, is his. Maitri 7:11 reads: “….In the stirring up, that is like [the action] of smoke; it rises up into a great tree in the sky, issuing forth into one branch after another.” The simile of the world as an eternal fig tree growing out of Brahma is further elaborated in Bhagavad Gita 15:1-3 ”That (root) indeed is the Pure. That is Brahma. That indeed is called the Immortal. On it all the worlds do rest, and no one goes beyond it.” (Srimad Bhagavatum) “The whole universe may be compared to a large tree. All beings may be said to be its leaves and branches. Hari, God, is the root of the tree. When the Lord is worshiped, all beings rejoice.” And in Guru Gita 38: “The service of Guru is Gaya-Kshetra, his body is the imperishable Banyan tree (Akshaya Vata).”
Again recalling Job’s “there is hope for a tree”, Chandogya 6:11:1-3 reads: “Of this great tree, my dear, if some one should strike at the root, it would bleed, but still live. If some one should strike at its middle, it would bleed, but still live. If some one should strike at its top it would bleed, but sill live. Being, pervaded by Atman (Soul), it continues to stand, eagerly drinking in moisture and rejoicing….Verily, indeed, when life has left it, this body dies. The life does not die. That which is the finest essence—this whole world has that as its soul. That is Reality, That is Atman (Soul).” Here, of course,, we are speaking of more than the biological organism.
In Scandinavian religion the mythological tree Yggdrasil symbolizes the universe. It is an immense and central sacred tree. Around it exists all else, including
”the Nine Worlds”. (Wikipedia) “Yggdrasil (Ygdrasill) is an immense ash tree that is center to the cosmos and considered very holy. The gods go to Yggdrasil daily to assemble at their things, traditional governing assemblies. The branches of Yggdrasil extend far into the heavens, and the tree is supported by three roots that extend far away into other locations; one to the well Uroarbrunnr in the heavens, one to the spring Hvergelmir, and another to the well Mímisbrunnr. Creatures live within Yggdrasil, including the dragon Niohoggr….From the Poetic Edda poem Voluspa: “An ash I know there stands, Yggdrasill is its name, a tall tree, showered with shining loam. From there come the dews that drop in the valleys. It stands forever green over Urðr‘s well.”
George Chapman was a contemporary of Shakespeare, English dramatist, translator, poet, and classical scholar, an anticipator of the metaphysical poets of the 17th century. He is best remembered for his translations of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. He followed Timaeus’ assertion that man is a heavenly tree, writing, “So in our tree of man, whose nervie root Springs in his top.” This aligns perfectly with the previous descriptions.
Mystical Judaism has taken the tree and turned it into a symbolic diagram. The genius of this conversion, while esoteric and complicated, never ceases to amaze me. I have supplemented my limited knowledge by that from Wikipedia: The Tree of Life (Etz Chaim) is a symbolic diagram used in Jewish mystical traditions to describe divine structure, creation, and the spiritual path of ascent. It is usually referred to as the ‘kabbalistic tree of life’ to distinguish it from that of the Genesis creation narrative as well as the archetypal tree of life found in many cultures. Here it is both a conceptual framework and, in later Kabbalistic texts, a schematic diagram linking the sefirot, or divine emanations, to cosmology and human spiritual development. The Assyrians were the precursors of this thought. They assigned moral values and specific numbers to Mesopotamian deities similar to those used in Kabbalah. They claimed that the state tied to these sacred tree images was parallel to the idea of Adam Kadmon [the highest, most exalted spiritual world, the first pure, godlike blueprint of creation that emerged directly after the contraction (Tzimtzum) of the Infinite Light (Ein Sof), existing long before the physical Adam of Eden]. Assyrian or otherwise. Kabbalah’s beginnings date to the Middle Ages. The earliest extant Hebrew kabbalistic manuscripts dating to the late 13th century contain diagrams, including one labelled “Tree of Wisdom”, the now-iconic tree of life emerged during the fourteenth century. The Tree of Life usually consists of 10 or 11 nodes symbolizing different archetypes and 22 paths connecting the nodes. The nodes are often arranged into three columns, each representing a common category. The nodes are called sefirot. They are usually represented as circles and are connected by paths, called ṣinnoroṯ, usually represented as lines.[The nodes usually represent encompassing aspects of existence, God, or the human psyche. The paths usually represent the relationship between the concepts ascribed to the spheres or a symbolic description of the requirements to go from one sphere to another. The columns are usually symbolized as pillars. These usually represent different kinds of moral values, electric charges, or types of ceremonial magic. The sefirot are the ten spheres on the Tree of Life. Each sefirah (singular of sefirot) represents a different aspect of the Divine, as well as aspects of human consciousness and existence.
The culmination of the Tree of Life may lie in its connection to Divine Personhood. Joseph Padenjarekara, a Christian commentator with extensive Sanskrit background, provides this relationship: “There is a connection between Jesus and the Ashvattha Tree described in the Kathopanisad, ‘with roots above and branches below… immortal…in Him all worlds are contained…bright.’ It aligns with what the New Testament scriptures ascribe to the power of the risen Christ, alluded to in the Old Testament as well. In John 8:23, Jesus is speaking (KJV) ‘Ye are from beneath; I am from above; ye are of this world; I am not of this world.’; also in John 6:48-51 ‘I am the living bread who came down from heaven. And if anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. This bread is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world.’ Significant, too, is the prophecy of Isaiah 11:1-5 (JB) ‘A shoot springs from the stock of Jesse, a scion thrusts from his roots: on him the spirit of Yahweh rests, a spirit of wisdom and insight, a spirit of counsel and power, a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh (the fear of Yahweh is his breath).’ [JB notes: “A messianic poem describing in some detail the salient characteristics of the coming Messiah: of Davidic Stock: Verse 1, he will be filled with the spirit of the prophets. Verse 2, will establish among men the ‘integrity’ which is the reflection of God’s sanctity on earth….”] And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. He does not judge by appearances, he gives no verdict on hearsay, but judges the wretched with integrity, and with equity gives a verdict for the poor of the land.’ (RSV) ‘He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear. His word is a rod that strikes the ruthless, his sentences bring death to the wicked.’ The conclusion occurs in verse 12: ‘That day, the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples It will be sought out by the nations and its home will be glorious.” (Jeremaih 11:19) ‘…Let us destroy the tree [KJV notes: “stalk”] with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.’ (Ezekiel 34:29) ‘And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.’ (Jeremiah 23:5-6) (JB) ‘See, the days are coming—it is Yahweh who speaks—when I will raise a virtuous Branch for David, who will reign as true king and be wise [KJV “shall reign and prosper”; RSV “shall reign as king and deal wisely”], practicing honesty and integrity [KJV “judgment and justice”; RSV “justice and righteousness”] in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel dwell in confidence. And this is the name he will be called: Yahweh-our-integrity [KJV “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS”].’ This is restated in Jeremiah 33:15-16: (JB) ‘In those days and at that time, I will make a virtuous Branch [KJV “the Branch of righteousness”; RSV “a righteous Branch”] grow [KJV “to grow up unto”; (RSV) “to spring forth”] for David, who shall practice honesty and integrity in the land. In those days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell in confidence. And this is the name the city will be called: Yahweh-our-integrity.’ ” (for additional discussion see the post The Root of David and the Branch, a Shoot from the Stump of Jesse)
This, I would suggest to you, is, at its deepest level, the Tree of Life is not a “what” but a “who”. It is the end result of bhakti, devotion. The crown of this tree is the Crown of Creation, the fulfillment of consciousness into which we grow. By entering into this awareness it is possible, like a tree, to grow into the Divine nature. This is the aim of the highest traditions of Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Sufism. It is personified by Abraham, to whom God spoke in a vision (Genesis 15:1); to Hagar who extols God as El Roi, God of Vision, saying “I have seen the one who sees me” (Genesis 16:13, JB); in Moses, to whom God spoke “face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend” (Exodus 33:11); in Elijah, taken up unto heaven in a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:11); and in the New Testament revelation, where Jesus, the Son of Man, assures his followers, “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). The message is clear, and joyous: living in the crown of the Tree of Life is to be taken up into life with God.
