תְּאֵנָה

“Fig” in Hebrew is Te'enah (תְּאֵנָה), pronounced “te-eh-NAH.” Te'enah is an ancient agricultural term found across Semitic languages. The fig was one of the earliest cultivated fruits in the ancient Near East, domesticated thousands of years before written history.

Te'enah (תְּאֵנָה) means “Fig, fig tree” in Biblical Hebrew. Te'enah appears 39 times in the Hebrew Bible. It describes the first garment (Genesis 3:7), the Promised Land's abundance (Deuteronomy 8:8), messianic peace (Micah 4:4, 1 Kings 4:25), prophetic symbolism (Jeremiah 24), and Jesus' parables and actions.

Te'enah is pronounced “te-eh-NAH.” The word comes from the Hebrew root ת-א-נ.

When Jesus cursed the fruitless fig tree (Mark 11:12-14), He was performing a prophetic sign-act against the Temple establishment. Just as the fig tree had leaves (appearance of life) but no fruit, the Temple had religious activity but no genuine spiritual fruit. The cursing of the fig tree frames the Temple cleansing that follows — both are about God expecting fruit from His people.

'Every man under his vine and his fig tree' (Micah 4:4, 1 Kings 4:25) is the Hebrew vision of perfect peace and prosperity. It means owning your own land, enjoying its fruit, and being free from the threat of war or oppression. It's the opposite of exile and slavery — the fulfilled promise of abundant, secure life in God's land.

Genesis 3:7 says Adam and Eve sewed fig (te'enah) leaves to cover their nakedness after the Fall. Fig leaves are large and readily available but temporary — they wilt quickly. This detail shows humanity's first attempt at self-covering was inadequate. God later provided animal skins (Genesis 3:21), foreshadowing that only God's provision — at the cost of blood — can truly cover human sin.