Greek word · G5444

φύλλον

phyllon

leaf

φύλλον: leaf or foliage. μόνον: only, alone. Together, after "nothing except": leaves and nothing else.

Appears 6 times in 5 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

φύλλον, -ου, τό

[in LXX chiefly for עָלֶה ;]

a leaf: Matthew 21:19 24:32, Mark 11:13 13:28, Revelation 22:2.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Matthew 21:19

Range of meaning

φύλλον: leaf or foliage. μόνον: only, alone. Together, after "nothing except": leaves and nothing else.

Against the English

Translations render it accurately ("nothing but leaves"). What gets lost is the botany a Judean would take for granted: in spring a fig tree's leaves come out together with, or after, its first small fruit buds. So leaves suggest that something edible should be there.

Used elsewhere in the period

Fig trees in the land of Israel put out small early fruit knobs (Hebrew paggim, Song 2:13) in early spring, around the time the leaves appear. The main crops ripen from early summer into late summer. The village of Bethphage, which Jesus passed in 21:1, probably means "house of unripe figs" in Aramaic. Matt 24:32 assumes everyone knows that new leaves mean summer is near. Ps 1:3 pictures the righteous as a tree "whose leaf does not wither" and that yields fruit in season. Leaves and fruit belong together.

Where it appears

Matthew · 2

  1. Matthew 21:19 φύλλα leaves

    Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. “May you never bear fruit again!” He said. And immediately the tree withered.

    Here: Leaves, and that is the point. A fig tree in full leaf looks productive. Here the leaves are a display with nothing behind it.

  2. Matthew 24:32 φύλλα leaves

    Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near.

    Here: Fig leaves are large and broad, and they come out fairly late, around March–April. When they appear on bare branches the change is obvious.

Mark · 3

  1. Mark 11:13 φύλλα φύλλα· leaves, leaves;

    Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if there was any fruit on it. But when He reached it, He found nothing on it except leaves, since it was not the season for figs.

  2. Mark 13:28 φύλλα, leaves,

    Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near.

Revelation · 1

  1. Revelation 22:2 φύλλα leaves

    down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

    Here: In the ancient world leaves were a common source of medicine, used in poultices, infusions and salves. The image comes straight from Ezekiel 47:12, "its leaves for healing."

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.