Flax is linen

Flax is the blue-flowered crop plant from which linen and oil is produced. Many scriptures refer to linen and fine-twined linen. John, the revelator said the Lord's church would be "arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints," suggesting images of saints in God's holy house.





Apple: Malus

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold" (Proverbs 25:11).     

     Translations and identification of the word apple in the bible evoke a number of questions. The Hebrew word is tappuah.  Some botanists insist that the actual fruit is an apricot, owing to the fact that apples are not native to the Holy Land, and apricot fits the criteria. For this reason, they also believe apple is not the forbiden fruit of Genesis. On the other hand, other scholars maintain that the references are, indeed the common apple. 

     In the bible, apples are the subject of love, the name of places, and of course, a fruit. Additionally, apples inspired the biblical expression, "apple of my eye," which has nothing to do with the fruit; it refers to the pupil of an eye. And, according to one author, apple trees thrive quite nicely in region.  

     Regardless of controversy, apples are commonly found in the Holy Land today. And, they remain a popular candidate for the forbidden fruit.