One of the most ubiquitous trees in Israel would be the olive. What most don’t realize is that all olives are green. If left long enough on the tree, they turn black or purple. These are not different varieties which cause the color difference, it’s a matter of maturity. David declared, “I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever” (Psalm 52:8). In essence, he was saying that there were a few things about the nature of the Lord and the power of his presence that he still needed to learn….
The olive tree takes about five years to give any kind of fruit and seven years to really produce a harvest. If properly tended, it will continue to produce for dozens, if not hundreds, of years. The olive is not changing location any time soon, hence, David’s pronouncement. Farmers basically plant olive trees for the next generation(s). In ancient times and in areas practicing more primitive modes of production, such as beating the ripe olives with a stick, the harvest suffered. It would take the tree a year to recover from such treatment. Plus, the fruit should never be fully harvested, combing the tree a second time, but instead, reserving some for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widows to reap (Deuteronomy 24:20). The best method of reaping was to handpick the olives, a bit more tedious in terms of time, but better for the tree and for any fruit intended to be eaten whole.
At harvest time in the fall, blankets are placed around the base of the tree. Workers beat and/or shake the branches vigorously. The fruit falls to the blanket or sheet and is gathered. In Bible days, people pickled green or black olives in vinegar and salt, or could boil them and then eat them dried.
Today, there are many varieties issuing from the gray-silver leaved olive trees with their often-twisted trunks. (None of them grow with little red peppers inside! I’m happy to clarify that.) We’ll talk about the wood from the tree and additional uses for olives another day. But for now, you heard it here first: green = immature, while black/purple = mature/ripe olives.
The more mature the olive, (don’t pick it too early), the more oil it produces. That will preach!
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