A Fig-Shower

● Once John the Baptist advised certain men in military service: “Do not harass anybody or accuse anybody falsely.” (Luke 3:14) In relating this account, Luke used a Greek expression that literally means “should you take by fig-showing.” What is a “fig-shower”?

Various authorities offer the explanation that in ancient Athens exporting figs out of the province was prohibited. One who denounced others, accusing them of attempting to export figs, was termed a “fig-shower.” The word came to designate a malignant informer, a person who accused others out of a love of gain, a false accuser, a blackmailer.