Inquiry:
Was the fig tree male or female? Matthew 24:32 speaks of “his branch,” but Mark 13:28 speaks of “her branch.” The NIV and other translations render this “its branch,” but Strong’s agrees with the KJV. Is there a contradiction?
Response:
A visitor to our web site contributed this alleged contradiction, stating it is a trivial matter, but still a real contradiction.
The Greek word rendered “his” in Matthew 24:32 and “her” in Mark 13:28 is αὐτός. In the list of possible ways this word can be rendered, Strong’s mentions:
…her, it, one, the other, own, self, same, him, my, thy, your, she, that, their, them, there, they, these, this, those...
The questioner said that Strong’s agrees with the KJV. Strong’s reveals that the word αὐτός can be rendered as either his or her. Since Strong’s reveals that both are viable, upon what basis does the questioner say there is a contradiction here? Since αὐτός can be rendered a variety of ways, it would appear that the NIV and likely every other translation also agree with Strong’s.
That the KJV translators rendered αὐτός as “his” in Matthew’s gospel, but “her” in Mark’s gospel is neither here nor there. Trees are not male and female in the sense we typically use the words. Feel free to dig into botanical sexuality if you’d like. Jesus wasn’t speaking of the sex of the fig tree, nor were the gospel writers, or the translators.
Which is correct? Both. Neither Matthew or Mark were wrong. It is indeed a trivial matter, as the questioner said, and is a matter in which there is no contradiction.
Links: YouVersion | GROW magazine
Return to the article archive
