28-06-2018, 12:51 PM
7921
Re: Leisurely Scribbles (part 5)
I do like these old parables, and here is one I never heard of before, but for the life of me I couldn’t fig-ure this one out, until I read more about it. RJ is well up on his parables, he knows them all.
The parable of the barren fig tree, not to be confused with the parable of the budding fig tree, it would seem them Jews of old was nuts about fig trees.
A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.
— Luke 13:6–9, King James Version
Ah it seems the ‘Dresser’ or supervisor in the vineyard was playing a trick on the owner of the vineyard, first fruit from a fig tree was forbidden to be eaten for the first three years, by a then law of the land, Fig trees were not usually planted in vineyards because the roots took up too much space, on the fourth year the Dresser would keep the fruit for himself before removing the tree from the vineyard, crafty old sod, I believe he then went on create a fig syrup family business, indeed one of his descendants was the famous Solomon Rip who was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1890, arise “Sir Rip of Figs”
I believe that back in the 1940’s Hollywood abandoned a plan to cast Errol Flynn as Adam in a biblical film, they couldn’t find a fig leaf big enough.