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Plants of the Bible - Part 1 - Understanding the Stories

© Georgene A. Bramlage

Plants are important in our biblical heritage and traditions. Why is this, you might ask.

Bible stories are about the day-by-day lives of the people of ancient Israel. These people either were farmers or shepherds or understood rural life. They knew about plants and farming activities at different times of the year.

When you are familiar with plants of the Bible, it helps you to understand the lives of people described in the Scriptures. You will also grasp a bit better what the Bible writers wanted to tell us.

What was the farmer's year like in the Israel of the Bible?

We have a good idea from a Hebrew farmer's calendar found on a 10th century limestone tablet near the city of Gezer, about twenty miles northwest of Jerusalem. This calendar includes a description of a farmer's year. Keep in mind that weather in Israel is hot and dry. Rain, and sometimes snow, falls in January and February. Rain with some sunshine offers good planting weather.

The Gezer Calendar is kept in the Syria/Palestine Collection, Archaeological Museum Istanbul, Turkey. Here is what the calendar shows us about how those ancient farmers used their time. I have added the modern northern hemisphere months.

• Two months of harvest
  
  • October & November
  
  
• Two months of planting
  
  • December & January
  
  
• Two months of late planting
  
  • February & March
  
  
• One Month of hoeing up flax
  
  • April
  
  
• One Month of barley harvest
  
  • May
  
  
• A month of harvest and festivity
  
  • June
  
  
• Two months of vine dressing
  
  • July & August
  
  
• One month of gathering summer fruit
  
  • September

Here are the names of some gardens where you can find plants of the Bible:

Neot Kedumim, ancient place of beauty, Lod, Israel. Here we can find Biblical plants from the Sharon plain, Carmel range, Arava, Negev desert, natural Mediterranean forest areas and the Jordan River valley. Also, Biblical animals, many now extinct in the wild, roam special areas of Neot Kedumim. These plants and animals allow visitors to see, explore and feel the roots of Jewish-Christian heritage. They are a peek at how the lands of Scripture might have been. Neot Kedumim won the 1994 Israel Prize for its special contribution to the society and the state.


The Biblical Garden at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY. This is one of the oldest Bible gardens in the United States. You cannot see the garden on the web site but you can explore some of the cathedral.

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