Sycamore Tree

The sycamore tree, or fig-mulberry tree (Ficus sycomorus), is mentioned once in the Christian Greek Scriptures, in the account of Jesus’ visit to Jericho in the spring of 33 C.E. (Lu 19:1-10) This tree belongs to the same family as the common fig tree and the mulberry tree, but it differs from the North American sycamore. The tree’s fruit is like that of the common fig tree. The tree grows to a height of 10 to 15 m (33 to 50 ft), is strong, and may live for several hundred years. Sycamore trees grew in the Jordan Valley, and the Hebrew Scriptures also show that they were abundant in the Shephelah between the coastal plains and the Judean hills. (1Ki 10:27; 2Ch 1:15; 9:27) The tree is an evergreen, and its thick, wide-spreading foliage provides good shade. For that reason, the tree was frequently planted along roadsides. The tree has a short, stout trunk with lower limbs that branch out close to the ground, so it would have been easy for a short-statured man like Zacchaeus to climb it.