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Tim Maas
Supporter
My understanding is that the depiction of pomegranates was as a symbol of eternal life, accompanied by a belief that the original "Tree of Life" in Genesis had been a pomegranate tree (although I am not aware of any specific mention of this symbolism in Scripture.) Some Jewish traditions hold that the pomegranate’s 613 seeds correspond with the 613 laws in the Torah. Others assert that the pomegranate represents Israel. They were battered on the outside like the pomegranate’s peel but able to bless others from within. Other places in the Bible mention pomegranates in reference to fruitfulness, blessing, and prosperity (Numbers 13:23; Deuteronomy 8:8). The presence of pomegranate trees was symbolic of a nation’s financial and material wealth (Joel 1:12; Haggai 2:19). The grumbling Israelites mentioned the lack of pomegranates as a sign that God had deserted them: “Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here?... It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates” (Numbers 20:4–5). Also, multiple verses in the Song of Solomon use the pomegranate in symbolism of the bride's beauty and loveliness (Song of Solomon 4:3, 6:11, 8:2).
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