(BtL) Seeds & Trees
Seeds and trees are a very prevalent theme in the Bible. In Allies of Majesty we use the seed to present the concept of potential that has not been yet actualized. This can be seen in Scripture in Jesus parable of the sower when he speaks of the gospel as seed. In fact, several parables are grouped together in Matthew chapter 13 that use plant related imagery. Paul also compares it to the gospel in 1 Corinthians.
Paul uses a seed analogy when speaking of how resurrection will work for followers of Christ. The seed perishes, but what comes from it is something different and better than the seed. Similarly, when a Seed of growth potential sprouts, it is removed from the character and instead a Basic Attribute is strengthened.
Biblically, seeds are central theme to overarching narrative. We start in the first creation narrative with 3 days of God ordering the earth. On the day 1 and 2, there was a single act relayed followed by "God saw that it was good." On the 3rd day, however, we are given a bonus after the first time God see that it was good. On the 3rd day, God proceeds to do a second act and creates the plants and vegetation. In the next 3 days, we see a similar pattern. Each day ends with a single observation by God that "it was good." On the 6th day, however, we get a bonus again and God creates mankind.
Jump forward a couple chapters to where Adam and Eve have sinned (by eating of a tree they were commanded not to) and God is cursing the them and the serpent. First, whereas God had originally "given every green plant for food", now God says the ground will grow thorns and thistles for Adam. The trees will rejoice when this curse is reversed. Additionally, God says that there he will put enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. After this, the Bible is full of references to this, using words and imagery to distinguish some characters as the righteous seed of the woman and other characters as seed of the serpent. And there is certainly enmity between them. One easily notable example of this is when both John the Baptist and then later Jesus calls the Pharisees a brood of vipers, literally a snake's babies, or the serpent's seed. Guess what else Jesus does in the same passage? He compares them to trees that can be known by their fruits.
Trees in the arid Near East were sparse and so trees were valued. Wood was imported to build Solomon's temple and David's palace before that. In fact, while it is widely held that Jesus was the son of a carpenter, the word used is τέκτων which means more generically builder. There were stone quarries nearby to Nazareth, while there were not nearby forests. It is more likely that Joseph would have taught Jesus the trade of masonry and Jesus references adept use of stone and building imagery lends support to this possibility.
There are so many other examples of trees and seeds related to people that I cannot begin to relay them all without writing a book on the subject. I hope this enough to encourage you to look for these themes as you read.
Other Contributing Works:
- The Serpent in Samuel, Jason S DeRouchie, 2020
- Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, Seed, Tree, Trees, 1998
- The Bible Project podcast, Tim Mackie, multiple episodes
- The Naked Bible podcast, Michael S. Heiser, multiple episodes