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Answer
The olive tree is frequently mentioned in the Bible, starting from the time of the flood when the dove from the ark brought back an olive branch to Noah, to Revelation 11:4, where the two witnesses are symbolized as two olive trees. As one of the most highly valued and useful trees recognized by the ancient Jews, the olive tree holds significance for various reasons in the Bible. Its importance in Israel is illustrated in the parable of Jotham in Judges 9:8–9: “One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’ But the olive tree replied, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and humans are honored, to rule over the trees?'”
Fairly common in the Holy Land, the olive tree is a multi-branched evergreen with a gnarled trunk, smooth, ash-colored bark, and oblong, leathery leaves that are silvery green. Mature cultivated olive trees can grow to 20 feet or more in height and bear small yellow or white flowers around the beginning of May. As the blossoms start to drop, the olives, the tree’s fruit, begin to develop. Initially, the fruit is green but changes to a deep blue-black or dark green hue when fully ripe and harvested in early fall.
In the ancient Near East, olive trees were a vital source of food “And they took fortified cities and a fertile land and possessed houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in your great goodness.”, (Nehemiah 9:25), lamp oil “And you shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, to make a lamp burn continually.”, (Exodus 27:20), mMedicine (Isaiah 1:6; Luke 10:34), anointing oil (1 Samuel 10:1; 2 Kings 9:3), sacrificial oil (Leviticus 2:4; Genesis 28:18), and wood for furniture (1 Kings 6:23, 31-33).
An extremely slow-growing plant, the olive tree requires years of patient labor to reach full fruitfulness. Being well-suited to grow in the Mediterranean climate, the olive tree played a significant role in the region’s economy. The outer, fleshy part of the oval-shaped fruit is what yields the highly valuable commodity of olive oil. Still today, olive oil is considered beneficial for health.
The olive tree and olive branch have been symbols of peace and reconciliation ever since the account of Noah’s flood. When the dove brought Noah “a plucked olive leaf in its beak,” the olive branch represented new life sprouting on the earth «and the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. », (Genesis 8:11). The olive tree was alive and growing. The promise of the dove’s olive branch was a new beginning for humanity, peace and reconciliation with God, renewal, and revival. The slow and hearty growth of the olive tree also implies establishment and peace. Some of the oldest olive trees in the world still grow today in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives.
The flowering olive tree is a symbol of beauty and abundance in the Bible. The tree’s fruitfulness and ability to thrive suggest the model of a righteous person (Psalm 52:8; Hosea 14:6).
Psalm 52:8; Hosea 14:6, whose offspring are described as “strong young olive trees” “Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.”, Psalm 128:3, NLT. Olive oil was also utilized in anointing and crowning kings, symbolizing sovereignty.
Olive oil symbolizes the anointing of the Holy Spirit, as it served as the base for a blend of spices in the holy anointing oil. In Zechariah 4, the prophet sees two olive trees on either side of a solid gold lampstand in a vision. These trees provide the oil that fuels the lamps. They symbolize Zerubbabel and Joshua, the governor and high priest. The Lord advises them to rely on the power of God’s Holy Spirit working through them, rather than on financial or military strength (verse 6). Similar to other Old Testament analogies, the oil of the olive tree represents God’s Holy Spirit.
The process of beating and crushing olives to make olive oil also holds spiritual significance. Jesus Christ was beaten and crushed on the cross so that His Holy Spirit could be poured out on the church after His ascension to heaven. Essentially, Jesus Christ is God’s olive tree, and the Holy Spirit is His olive oil. It is not a mere coincidence that Christ’s anguished prayer, just before His arrest, took place in Gethsemane, a location with numerous olive trees, whose name means “olive press.”
God employs the image of an olive tree in Jeremiah 11:16–17 to remind His people of the covenant He has with them. The nation of Israel, God’s people, is portrayed as an olive tree, with God as the farmer. He planted them as a splendid olive tree but cautioned that He would cut them down if they disobeyed His laws and worshiped false deities. The apostle Paul references this imagery to impart a lesson to Gentile believers in Romans 11:17.–24. Paul selects the cultivated olive tree to symbolize Israel and the wild olive tree to depict Gentile believers. The cultivated olive tree is pruned and nurtured to produce abundant fruit. The unfruitful, ineffective branches are trimmed and removed, while the root remains unharmed. God has safeguarded the sacred root of Israel and pruned away the unproductive branches.
The Gentiles, symbolized by the wild olive tree in Romans 11, have been grafted into the cultivated olive root. As a wild olive tree, their root was feeble. Their branches were unable to bear fruit until they were grafted into the nourishing, life-sustaining root of the cultivated olive tree. Gentile believers now partake in Israel’s blessings, but Paul cautions, “Do not boast that you are superior to those branches. If you do boast—remember, it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you” (CSB). Paul desires Gentile believers to recognize that they have not displaced Israel. God has performed a wonderful work for the Gentiles, yet Israel remains God’s chosen people and the wellspring of the salvation blessings that Gentiles now experience.
Jesus Christ, Israel’s Messiah, is the root of Jesse, or the root of the cultivated olive tree. Both Israel and the Church derive their life from Him.
