📖 Biblical Definition
The sycamore (Ficus sycomorus, the fig-mulberry) is a tree common in lowland Israel and Egypt — large, spreading, with rough bark easy to climb, bearing small fig-like fruit eaten by the poor and yielding durable timber. Amos was a herdsman and a "gatherer of sycomore fruit" when the LORD called him to prophesy (Amos 7:14). Zacchaeus the chief tax-collector of Jericho — short of stature and unable to see over the crowd — "climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way" (Luke 19:4). Christ called him down by name, went to his house, and salvation came to that house. The LORD uses common trees to host uncommon encounters.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
SYC'AMORE, n.
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A tree of the genus Ficus, common in Egypt and Palestine, of the family of the figs. Its fruit is small, sweet, and abundant; the timber is durable and used for various purposes.
📖 Key Scripture
Luke 19:4 — "He ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him."
Amos 7:14 — "I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit."
1 Kings 10:27 — "Cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance."
Psalm 78:47 — "He destroyed... their sycomore trees with frost."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
The Lord uses common trees to host uncommon encounters; modern ministry overlooks the sycamore.
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Zacchaeus was rich, short, and despised. He climbed a sycamore not because it was the most picturesque tree but because it was the most accessible — low-branching, wide-trunked, easy to scale. The Lord saw him there and called him by name. Modern ministry tends to chase cedars; the gospel keeps choosing sycamores.
Amos's biographical line is similarly humble: I was no prophet... I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit. The man who delivered some of the most thunderous prophecy in the Old Testament had been picking sycamore figs for a living. The Lord trains and calls from the sycamore. If you are climbing a sycamore today — small position, accessible work, no platform — the Lord may be passing by.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Greek sukomoros (G4809); Hebrew shiqmah (H8256).
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G4809 — sukomoros — sycamore-fig
H8256 — shiqmah — sycamore tree
Usage
"The gospel keeps choosing sycamores; modern ministry chases cedars."
"Amos picked sycamore fruit before he prophesied; the Lord trains in low places."
"If you are on a sycamore today, the Lord may be passing by — watch the road."