Olive and Olive Oil in Monotheistic Religions/Books
Adam's Death; Wall painting on plaster floor, Piero della Francesca, painter and mathematician, Early Renaissance*, Basilica of San Francesco, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy. kaynak
* In this period of art history; artists have defined perspective using mathematics, thus; they begin to give a real sense of three-dimensionality to the surfaces on which they paint.
The Story of Adam's Death
The oldest story about the olive tree in the Middle Eastern peoples, where monotheism has risen, is related to the death and burial of Adam. At the time of his death, Adam begs God for mercy for himself and humanity. As a messenger, he sends his third son, Seth, to the angel who is waiting at the gate of heaven, to ask for oil of mercy. The archangel tells Seth to look at heaven three times.
At first glance, the source of the birth of the four rivers and a dead tree above it; In the second glance, he sees a snake entwined with the trunk of the tree, and in the third, the tree rises to the sky. There is a newborn baby at the top of this tree, and the roots of the tree extend to the underworld. The angel tells Seth that the baby is the savior (Christ) and gives three seeds from the tree of wisdom that Adam and Eve tasted. He asks his father Adam to put these three seeds in his mouth and says that his father will die in three days.
When Adam heard what Şit told, he smiled for the first time since he was expelled from paradise. Because he understood that humanity will be saved. Adam is buried with these seeds placed in his mouth, and thus olive, cypress and cedar trees emerge from Adam's grave. The roots of these trees symbolize the center of the earth. In the Middle East geography, where monotheism is widespread, we see that these trees have changed places in the myths. In accordance with the order they received from God, he was first taken to Mount Tabor by Moses and then to Jerusalem by David. In the stories, these three trees grow into a single tree over time. The cross of the Savior (Christ) was made from this tree. Christ was crucified where this tree was and ascended to heaven from where these trees were. The blood of Jesus, crucified in the center of the world, drips onto the place where Adam was created and buried, that is, on Adam's skull, baptizing him; and thus, the father of humanity is also purified.
Another symbol in the story is the "sacred mountain" symbol. According to this belief, the "holy mountain" is the center of the world where the earth and the sky meet. It is a belief that existed in different geographical peoples in the past. The mountain in the Jesus story is the hill of Golgotha, near Jerusalem. Jerusalem and the Temple of Solomon are also identified with this hill.
In the works that tell the life stories of the prophets and their activities, it is told that when Adam asked God for help for his pain, Gabriel lowered the olive tree and asked him to use its fruit. The goddess Athena, who created the olive tree in the beliefs of polytheistic pagan peoples, seems to have turned into the angel Gabriel in this myth.
Flood Myth
Flood stories are symbolic narratives of resurrection and creation through water. An era ends with the Flood, a new era begins. It is a type of myth that is common among different peoples in different geographies of the world. On the other hand, the water-related beliefs and rituals of societies differ in a wide range of meanings, from divinity to cleanliness and purification.
The most famous is Noah's Flood. Its origin is the Sumerian flood myth in the Near East. However, the written tablets describing the flood myth of the Sumerians are missing. Their translations are controversial. More details have been reached on the Babylonian version of the similar myth. The story is told in detail in the longest and best preserved of the twelve tablets containing the Epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh, who is trying to reach the secrets of immortality, reaches Utnapishtim, who has accessed these secrets during his journey. Utnapishtim tells him the story of the flood. In Utnapishtim's story, it is also possible that people may have climbed a tower. Because; The ziggurats (high towers) built in the city-states of those times are one of the features of ancient Mesopotamian civilizations. The bird in this version is the raven. The fact that the Flood myth was widely known in the ancient Near East was also confirmed by the discovery of Hittite and Hurrian fragments of the myth.
The ritual performed by immersing the newborn baby in water in the Egyptian Goddess Isis worship, although it is not a flood myth, symbolically ends life with water; It is an expression of the beginning of a new life. A similar, albeit differentiated, ritual of this rite still continues as a baptismal ritual in today's Christianity.
The Egyptian civilization rose in the Nile river valley, and the Mesopotamian civilizations rose in the valley formed by the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. The similarity in beliefs and legends is based on the similarity of the lifestyles shaped by the geographies where both civilizations rose. Excavations in various parts of Mesopotamia have proven that ancient cities such as Ur and Kish were subject to severe flooding. However, there was no evidence of a flood that engulfed all the cities and affected the whole country. Moreover, archaeological findings have revealed that the dates when the cities were flooded were not the same.
As Hebrew Flood mythology, the Torah story of the flood is the most detailed, best preserved, and has the least translation problems. It was probably transferred from Babylonian civilization to the Torah after the Babylonian Exile of the Jewish people. The version of the Torah (Old Testament) that we have today was revealed by a compilation of writers, probably of Jehovahist and Priest descent, spanning several centuries. Those who made the compilation were fed not only from their own beliefs, but also from the beliefs of the geography they migrated and the peoples they lived with. In the Torah version, the raven is the first bird to be released from the ship to see if the tide has dwindled. Then the pigeon is sent. Seven days after Noah's ark ran aground, the dove that he sent returns with a freshly plucked olive branch in its mouth. This time, God extended the olive branch, which in ancient Greek myths, the goddess Athena extended to the god Poseidon, to Noah by means of a dove. The bird symbolizing Athena was the owl, but the pigeon plays a role in this story. Since then, the dove is the symbol of hope, new life, well-being and peace. The olive tree, which resists the destructive power of the flood and the chaos it created, is the symbol of the cosmos with its immortality on the one hand and reconciliation with the punishing God on the other.
Even when the olive tree has completed its life and its trunk dries up or is cut due to any disease and left as such, it can form a new trunk from the new shoots that grow from the places close to the roots just above the soil. For this reason, it is also called the "Immortal Tree".
The claim in the story that Noah's ark landed on Mount Cudi, not Mount Ararat, is based on the presence of many wild olive trees on the Cudi and Gabar mountains, which have a height of one thousand meters.
In the human imagination, birds have sometimes been a means of communication between God and man, and sometimes a sign of the spirit.
In ancient Egypt, it was believed that the waving of pigeons would bring good news to the land and the gods. The people respected, protected and loved the pigeons. In Greek mythology, one of the introductory animal symbols of Aphrodite is the dove. The dove is also called the "Kythere Bird" because Venus, the equivalent of Aphrodite in Roman myths, has a temple in Kythere.
In the belief of shamanism, the soul of the deceased turns into a bird and ascends to the sky, and this belief is quite common among Turks. Among the Uighur Turks, especially the pigeon and the swallow play the leading role in the myths. The Flood legend is also told among the Altai Turks. The emergence of the name "Turfan", one of the important cities of East Turkestan, is also associated with a flood event that took place. In most of the Turkish tribes, the elements related to the swallow and its characteristics are based on the "Noah's Flood" event. In the "Flood legend" of the Altai Turks, the raven, magpie and crow are carrioned during their journey and neglect their main job. The pigeon returns with a twig in its beak, so it is clear that land is nearby. In the belief of the peoples of those times, the dove is a bird that “foretells, symbolizes peace and is faithful”. The pigeon, which is the symbol of "fertility, abundance, friendship and loyalty" among the Uighur Turks, has also been used as a "messenger" bird since ancient times.
An “olive branch” plucked from the olive tree continues to exist in the consciousness of modern people as a symbol of peace.
Jewish Faith
Israeli literature (literature; Torah or Old Testament) has survived well into our times, covering an average of a thousand years. The Old Testament, especially the Genesis chapter, contains many mythological stories.
The beginning of the history of Israel begins with the migration of its ancestors to the land of Canaan. The first of the migrations is the influx of peoples called "Hebrews" under the leadership of Abraham in ancient sources. B.C. It is thought to have taken place in the 1800s. The second influx is the movement of nomadic or semi-nomadic Arameans led by Jacob, whose ancestors are also called "Israel". The third influx, directed against the inhabitants of their ancestors, the Hebrews, began in the 3rd millennium BC. At the end of the 1300s, after living in Egypt for a long time, they are the peoples who fled from Egypt. When all these immigrant peoples who made up the people of Israel entered the geography called Canaan, they encountered the Semitic peoples. This region, also known as Phoenicia, was an ancient region of modern-day Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and the Levant Region of Israel, with prosperous cities enriched by large trade and construction projects, sometimes dependent on Egypt. The peoples in the region were completely settled and switched to an agricultural economy. The most prominent agricultural product was the olive. Those who came mingled with the religious beliefs of the settled peoples. Historical sources show that the agricultural rites and seasonal festivals of the settlers were also adopted by the newcomers. This assimilation continued until the Babylonian Exile of the peoples.
In many parts of the Old Testament, olive and olive oil appear as an element of holiness. All the gods remaining from the polytheistic pagan beliefs were rejected, and a belief in a single, absolute and infinitely powerful god over everything was tried to be established. Olive and its oil; it is a symbol that he created and that is his sign, a sign.
According to the legend, God asked Moses, who was forced to emigrate with his people from Egypt, to make an oil lamp containing the purest olive oil to illuminate a mobile temple to be used during the migration process:
“The angel who spoke to me came again and woke me as if from sleep.” “What do you see?” he asked. “I see a solid gold lampstand,” I replied, “on top of which is a bowl for olive oil, with seven lamps on it, and seven grooves on the lamps. There are also two olive trees, one to the right and the other to the left of the olive oil bowl, next to the lampstand.” He asked the angel, "What are these two olive trees to the right and left of the candlestick?" I asked. “What are these two olive branches next to the two golden oaks that pour oil like gold?”, “Don't you know what they mean?” he replied. “No, sir,” I said. “These are two people blessed with oil, who serve the Lord of the whole world,” the angel explained. (Torah, Zechariah Chapter 4:1-3, 11-14). According to the Old Testament "renewed post-apocalyptic world" discourse, a "anointed" (oil-rubbed; black, messianic) king will rule the new world. The expression "Anointed Servant of Yahweh (Lord)" is an element of Hebrew religious thought, for monarchs in the rising cities of those times it was natural for this person to be "king." The belief in the hope of cosmic renewal is characteristic of an archaic belief that goes back to the beliefs of the cultivators of the Paleolithic Age.
Concerning olive oil in 'Exodus 30:31' of the Old Testament, the Lord calls out: "And you shall say to them: This will be the holy anointing oil to me for generations to come." When this whole section is examined, it is seen that olive oil is described as a perfume/ointment (a fragrant holy anointing oil) to be used on the body. There are archaeological findings that olive oil was used to make perfumes in ancient times. God asks Moses to rub the sacred items in the tent-shaped portable temple built for use during the migration with this oil. All items rubbed with oil are rendered holy, like the anointed servant/king chosen by the god. Then, God forbids this oil to be applied to people's bodies. For a people in migration, it is understandable that such an emphasis is placed on olive oil, which was believed to be sacred in the lands where they lived before, and as an agricultural product that was difficult to obtain at that time. The prohibition of applying oil to the body can be explained by the concern of returning to their previous polytheistic religions, which still exist in the consciousness of the people, or by the rise of the thought that only the king can do this practice.
The olive tree and olive oil are mentioned in all of Zekeriya Chapter 4 chapters. The seven-branched candlestick, in which olive oil is used as fuel, is likened to the "eyes of God". A similar description of God is also present in the Qur'an's Surah Nur. In this chapter, it is also explained how the pagan temple on a "great mountain" from pagan beliefs was destroyed by the Jewish King Zerubbabel, who was appointed by God, with the help of the creator. The whereabouts of the sacred mountain mentioned here is not documented. A similar mountain analogy associated with the olive is also found in the Qur'an, and this mountain is thought to be Mount Sinai.
In the Old Testament, God promised the Children of Israel, whose origins are in the ancient Egyptian civilization, "lands with olive oil", and the olive tree and olive oil are mentioned in many texts in the Torah. When the Torah is examined, it will be understood that there are many statements about how the belief in one God, which is absolute in Hebrew religious thought, will raise the believers to a privileged level -if they do not leave this thought-, how it will make them a sovereign nation, and eventually the creator will lead his servants to an unchanging peace. According to Mircea Eliade, the exhilaration and exaltation in the texts in these chapters, together with the unique depictions of heaven, are like the precursors of Christianity.
“One day the trees wanted to anoint themselves a king; They went to the olive tree and said, "Come and be our king." The olive tree replied, ‘Should I leave my oil used to honor gods and men and go to swing on the trees?’” (Torah, Judges Chapter 9:8, 9). In the judges section, not only olives, but also figs and grapes refuse to be kings of plants.
This story seems to indicate the conflict between pagan peoples who believed in gods who created figs, olives and grapes, and peoples who believed in monotheism. These fruits are the agricultural products that have developed the agricultural culture of that time, are the occupation of the settled people, and require the most labor to grow. According to the polytheistic Pagan peoples, these fruits are a gift created by the gods and given to humans. There are also verses of the Qur'an in which these fruits are mentioned.
Concerning olive oil in 'Exodus 30:31' of the Old Testament, the Lord calls out: "And you shall say to them: This will be the holy anointing oil to me for generations to come." When this section is examined, it is seen that olive oil is described as a perfume/ointment (a fragrant holy anointing oil) to be used on the body. There are archaeological findings that olive oil was used to make perfumes in ancient times. The rituals of burial of the dead with olive oil or rubbing with olive oil are common in the Pagan beliefs of the period. God asks Moses to rub the holy objects in the tent-shaped portable temple built for use during the migration with this oil, so that all the objects rubbed with oil are made holy. Then, God forbids this oil to be applied to people's bodies. It is understandable for a people who are migrating to give such importance to olive oil, which they believed to be sacred in the lands where they lived before, and which was an agricultural product that was difficult to obtain at that time. The prohibition of applying it to the body seems to be an action taken in order to eliminate or make people forget some religious rituals inherited from ancient pagan beliefs.
The olive tree and olive oil are mentioned in all of Zekeriya Chapter 4 chapters. The seven-branched candlestick, in which olive oil is used as fuel, is likened to the "eyes of God". A similar description of God is also present in the Qur'an's Surah Nur. In this chapter, it is also explained how the pagan temple on a "great mountain" from pagan beliefs was destroyed by the God-appointed Jewish King Zerubbabel, with the help of the creator. The location of the holy mountain mentioned here is not documented in the Torah. A similar mountain analogy associated with the olive is also found in the Qur'an, and this mountain is thought to be Mount Sinai. Inherited from pagan beliefs, the ancient gods who created the olive tree in myths have evolved into two servants of the Jewish god.
In the Old Testament, God promised the Children of Israel, whose origins are in the ancient Egyptian civilization, "lands with olive oil", and the olive tree and olive oil are mentioned in many texts in the Torah.
“One day the trees wanted to anoint themselves a king; They went to the olive tree and said, "Come and be our king." The olive tree replied, ‘Should I leave my oil used to honor gods and men and go to swing on the trees?’” (Torah, Judges Chapter 9:8, 9). In the judges section, not only olives, but also figs and grapes refuse to be kings of plants.
This story in the Judges section seems to indicate the conflict between pagan peoples who believed in gods who created figs, olives and grapes, and peoples who believed in monotheism. These fruits are the agricultural products that have developed the agricultural culture of that time, are the occupation of the settled people, and require the most labor to grow. According to the polytheistic Pagan peoples, these fruits are a gift created by different gods and given to humans. There are also verses of the Qur'an in which these fruits are mentioned. For the Jewish faith, which was trying to consolidate the belief in a single and absolute god, different gods could not have created these fruits, the story seems to be a narrative of the rejection of the pagan gods associated with the most important agricultural products of that period.
In Psalms 128:1-4, where the family is the subject, the children in the family are likened to olive sprouts. In olive agriculture, growing an adult olive tree from a seedling is a long-term effort that takes years, effort and patience. Therefore, it makes sense to compare children to olive seedlings. In the same section, the woman, as a wife, is compared to the vine. A people with an immigrant background now seems to have adapted to the settled culture.
In the Torah, He likens David to an olive tree, as the anointed king by Yahweh; “But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in God's kindness forever and ever" (Psalm 52:8).
In the myths, David is a short boy who is a shepherd of sheep and treats the sheep justly. When the oil horn is placed on his head, the fact that the oil begins to boil is accepted as proof that God has chosen him as king. Possibly David was a head of state and an experienced administrator. By making Jerusalem the capital city, he centralized the power and developed his military organization. While administering the state, he first executed the justice himself and handled the cases himself. It is also explained in detail in the Qur'an that the Children of Israel went to a fully settled civilization and strengthened the state, that David put both his own house and the administration of the kingdom in a certain order, systematized worship, and established a permanent army.
In the 1st Book of Kings Chapters of the Old Testament (Chapter 5; Preparations for the Construction of the Temple, 2Ch.2:1-18), the commercial relationship between King Hiram of Tire and the Prophet Solomon is mentioned. David died, his son Solomon took his place, Israel is in its most powerful and rich period as a state. King Solomon will send pure olive oil to King Hiram in exchange for the cedar trees necessary for the construction of the temple, which his father could not build: "Hiram provided Solomon with as much cedar and pine logs as he wanted. Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand corns of wheat, twenty kernels of corn each year as the food requirement of his palace. pure olive oil. The LORD gave wisdom to Solomon, according to his promise. There was peace between Solomon and Hiram. They made a covenant." As understood from this section; The food provided to the palace officials covers only the cost of the logs, King Solomon sent wheat and pure olive oil to Hiram's palace, as well as barley and wine as wages for the workers. It is seen that Phoenician workers were paid a certain wage in return for their work. The Phoenicians were enterprising traders and experienced sailors, people who turned to seafaring because of the scarcity of agricultural land. Archaeological excavations and finds were discovered by the Egyptians in the BC. It indicates that he established trade relations with this region as early as 3000 BC. Therefore, it is natural for King Solomon, whose origins were immigrants from Egypt, to have close relations with the Phoenician city-states. The Phoenician cities were the leaders of the region in their craft skills, they had three large cities with many small workshops and manufacturing centers. It is understood that during the reign of King Solomon, in a city-state that settled down with agriculture and especially olive cultivation, there were no craftsmen with the experience to build a temple yet, and technical experience assistance was received from the neighboring city-state in exchange for agricultural products. In this chapter; There is also talk of the dissatisfaction of the people of Israel with forced labor, which would gradually lead to mass uprising and the division of the kingdom soon after King Solomon's death.
Christian Faith
What most of the stories about Middle Eastern beliefs have in common is the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. The dove of Prophet Noah plucked an olive branch from this hill and brought it, the Messiah will come from here. Jesus ate his last meal at the foot of this mountain and ascended to the sky from here. It is believed that he rested under the old olive trees there. Those in the cemetery at the foot of the mountain will be the first to be resurrected when the apocalypse breaks.
It is believed that eight olive trees on the Mount of Olives witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The origin of the word Messiah comes from "meshing", that is, "rubbing with oil".
The penitent prostitute, Maria Magdalena, rubs Jesus' feet with olive oil and wipes them dry with her hair. According to a Christian belief, the doors of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem and the cross on which Jesus was crucified were also made of olive trees that grew above Adam's tomb.
As we understand from the Letter to the Romans of Paul, the first Jewish clergyman who taught the preaching and teachings of Jesus in the Bible to the Roman peoples who had a polytheistic belief, Jesus used the olive tree as a metaphor:
“…If the first piece of dough is holy, the whole dough is holy. If the root is holy, the branches are also holy. But if some branches of the olive tree have been cut off, and you, as wild olive sprouts, have been grafted in their place and shared the fat root of your own tree, do not brag about the branches. If you are boasting, remember that you are not carrying the root, the root is carrying you. Then you will say, “The branches were cut so that I could be grafted”. True, they were cut off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Don't brag, be afraid! For if God did not spare the true branches, He will not spare you either. See for him the goodness and sternness of God. He is tough on those who fall, but he will treat you well if you stick to his goodness. Or you will be cut off too! If they do not persist in disbelief, the Jews will also be grafted onto the sapwood. Because God has the power to inoculate them back. If you were cut from a wild olive tree and grafted onto a wild olive tree, how much more certain is it that the original branches will be grafted onto the original olive tree!” (Letter to the Romans 11:16-24).
At the time of the Jewish priest Paul, the worship of the mother goddess Isis was widespread in the Greco-Roman world, with its historical origins going back to ancient Egypt. The temples of Isis were first built in Syria around ca. It became widespread around 700 BC, and then, three hundred years later, an enormous temple for Isis was built at the foot of the Acropolis in Greece. B.C. In the first century, the worship of Isis was spread all over Western Europe, especially in Rome. At that time, the temple of Isis was on the Vatican Hill, which is now the center of the Church. M.S. Around 430 BC, the Christian theologian Proclus delivers a sermon that ascribes divinity to Mary, calling Mary the mediator between god and man. In a sermon in Ephesus, Cyril of Alexandria almost deified Mary, so that the extinction of Isis and her counterpart, Diana or Artemis, the great goddess of the Ephesians, seems to have been filled with Mary in the consciousness of the peoples of those times. In addition, as in the Christian Churches, confessional rituals were performed in the temples of Isis. The Christian confession is based on the Bible's statements: "You did not put olive oil on my head, but this woman put a fragrant oil on my feet, so I tell you, her many sins are forgiven." (Matthew 9:2, 6; John 20:22-23).
The ritual of cleansing with water is also present in pre-Christian polytheistic pagan beliefs, the ritual of purification with water is common at the entrance before entering pagan temples, and tools such as vessels/boats/bowls used for purification have been found in archaeological excavations in Western Anatolia and on the land of Greece. Before entering the sanctuary, there are texts written by the authors of the period where a green branched plant -probably olive or laurel - was used to sprinkle water. In the rite of baptism, the priest in the temples of Isis says: “With water I cleanse you from your sins, and with oil I cleanse you from your sins”. Because it was believed that by baptism or pouring the holy water of the Nile down the head of the worshiper during the Isis rites, all his sins would be erased and he would get rid of his mistakes. Although the worship of the Egyptian mother goddess Isis seems to have been transferred to Christianity, the fact that baptism is done once in Christianity, there is no water purification ritual at each entrance to the church, and no action related to washing / cleaning related to pagan belief is associated with rebirth and spiritual enlightenment in the symbolic sense that takes place in baptism. The lack of similarity makes baptism different from the rituals of Isis. In early Christianity, baptism was performed in the sea, river, spring, lake, or smaller pond. Later, this rite began to be practiced in the baptisteries right next to the church.
In temples and tombs in the form of long corridors, which the first Christians in the Roman period made by carving the rocks or digging underground to hide or avoid investigation, depictions of a pigeon turning with an olive branch in its mouth are encountered. The depiction of the dove with an olive branch in its mouth is depicted in many churches as a symbol of its holiness, sometimes on the scepter of St. Joseph (Joseph) as the husband of the Virgin Mary. It is also the symbol of the holy spirit, iconographically symbolizing the resurrection after death, and the dove bringing the olive branch is symbolized as "heralding the new life". It was seen as a symbol of baptism in early Christianity.
The most fundamental belief principle of Christian consciousness is the trinity. The Trinity is a complex belief system that defines the trinity of God expressed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. According to Christian thought, the element by which God made the virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, to become pregnant is called the Holy Spirit. In the early days of Christianity, polytheistic religious beliefs (paganism) of Egyptian and Greek origin were common among the pagan peoples of the city of Rome. The dove was, according to the Romans, the introductory symbol of the feminine fertility energy and Venus. Hermes, son of Zeus, who served as a mediator between the gods and humans in Greek mythology, is depicted as having pigeon wings on the mind, feet and helmet of pagans. Also in ancient Egypt, a spirit called "Ba" was conceived in the form of a bird in the designs of life after death. This historical background led to the interpretation that pagan beliefs were not completely erased in the Christian common subconscious, but that they continued their existence under new names by changing shape. Manifestation of the soul as a bird frequently takes place in Turkish epics, stories and legends. In Uyghur legends, it is described as “shape change / frost change. It is the case that shamans take the form of a bird that actually represents the "human spirit" or ride a supernatural animal, especially during their journeys to the sky. With the acceptance of the religion of Islam by the Turks, "don change" began to be described as the miracles of the saints or saints.
In the Gospel of John 1:32-33, “John continued his testimony: “I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove and standing on him. I didn't know Him. But the one who sent me to baptize with water said, 'If you see the Spirit descending on him, it is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. is writing. Therefore, St. At this moment when God announces Jesus as his son at the baptism of Jesus, the holy spirit is fashioned into a dove. In the painting "The Baptism of Jesus" by Leonardo da Vinci, one of the famous painters of the Renaissance period, the holy spirit is depicted in the form of a dove above Jesus' head. In Uyghur legends, the pigeon is Hz. Mohammed and Satuk are associated with Bugra Khan. Dove's disbelievers Hz. It is said that he prevented him from catching Muhammad and therefore the Muslims blessed him. In addition, the pigeon, which is depicted as a bird that brings abundance and fertility, is remembered with Satuk Buğra Khan, the first Turkish khan to accept Islam, and his tomb.
Olive is mentioned six times in the Qur'an; The Suras of Mü'minun, En'am, Nahl, Abese, Tin and Nur.
When these six suras are examined, it will be understood that in the first five, the olive is mentioned as "a created blessing". There is no sanctity or ritual function of olives and olive oil. Its function in Surah Nur is different, in this surah the olive tree and olive oil serve as symbols used to describe/describe Allah.
The olive tree is indirectly mentioned in the 20th verse of the chapter of Mü'minun: “And we have also grown a tree that comes out of the Tur-i Sina and ends up with oil; It is a supplement to those who eat it.” Some commentators claimed that it is not correct to translate the word as "Mount Sinai", and that Tur-i Sina should be understood as a "fertile bounty", "multiplier", "yielding bountiful" mountain. The word "olive" is not mentioned in the verse, but the subject on which the commentators agree; That tree is the olive tree that grows in that region and is believed to be sacred in pre-Islamic monotheistic beliefs. In this verse, the symbol of "tree as the center of the world and fertility" and the symbol of "holy mountain" are present in most myths and beliefs. The sanctity of mountains is very common in the history of faith. In monotheistic beliefs rising from the Middle East, the places where God had revealed before are mountains. There are also mountains that are sacred in the Jewish and Christian faiths. The most famous is Mount Sinai at 2285 meters, which is the second highest mountain in the Sinai Peninsula. Prophet of Islam Muhammad was secluded in the Hira cave on Mount Nur, about 6 km north of Mecca, and the first revelation was conveyed to him here.
The 99th verse of Surah An'am describes the fruits created by Allah. Symbolically, it has been interpreted that the olive represents unity and unity, and the pomegranate represents the whole, and the whole represents the grain. In the 141st verse of the same sura, it is requested not to waste these created fruits.
Verse 11 of Surat an-Nahl is similar in content and meaning to the chapter in Surah An'am. The growth of these fruits is described as signs of God's presence and power. In addition, throughout the Surah, water, milk-giving animals, dates, grapes and especially bees are mentioned, as well as spouses, sons and grandchildren bestowed on human beings, and some natural blessings that people benefit from are reminded.
In the abstinence period, one of the fruits that is shown as an example of the blessings created by Allah is the olive. The believer is asked not to be ungrateful and to ponder over these created blessings.
In Surah Tin, an oath is taken on the olive together with the fig, which is interpreted as a sign of the holiness of the olive. However, there is also the opinion that these two names were the names of the mountains where olives and figs were grown at that time, and that an oath could not be taken on the fruit.
When these times in the history of faith originating in the Middle East are reached, we can say that the sanctity of olives and olive oil has almost completely disappeared in the consciousness of peoples, but its value as a created blessing continues.
Surah Nur, Verse 35: “Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. The representation of His light is this: A cell in the wall; inside is an oil lamp, and the lamp is in a glass lantern. The lantern is a star shining like a pearl. It is ignited from a blessed tree, the olive tree, which belongs neither to the east nor to the west. The oil of this tree will almost illuminate (so clear), even if the fire does not touch it. Light upon light. Allah guides to His light whom He wills. Allah gives examples for people. Allah is all-knowing.”
In this verse, it seems that God is tried to be defined by analogy and symbols. In the first parable it was described as "light". The light was likened to the bright light of the flame, which emanated from the olive oil lamps used for lighting at that time. The word nur is also used in the sense of truth and knowledge. “A cell in the wall; There are some who have interpreted the expression “a lamp in a lamp and a lamp in a glass lantern” as a symbol or analogy of the human brain and mind. The fact that the source of the light is in a glass lantern seems to express its immaturity and infinity, "spreading light without being touched by fire".
Compiled by: Uğur Saraçoğlu (ugisaracoglu@yahoo.com.tr)
Resources:
1. Introduction to the History of Religions, Mircea Eliade, 1979, Translated by Lale Arslan, Kabalcı Publishing House, 2000.
2. Olive in Sacred Books and Mythology, Lecture Notes: 6, Dr. Mücahit Kivrak, Balikesir University Edremit Vocational School, Olive Growing Department.
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