Grass
“From a root meaning 'greenness' or 'to be enclosed'”
Summary
A general term in Scripture for herbage and vegetation, frequently used as a symbol of human frailty and the transient nature of life.
☩Biblical Terminology
Several Hebrew words are translated 'grass' in Scripture. The most common, chatsir, signifies ripe grass fit for mowing and fodder. Another term, deshe, refers to tender sprouting grass. The Greek chortos in the New Testament corresponds to these terms. Biblical writers did not employ the word with scientific precision but used it broadly to include various forms of vegetation.
☩Symbolic Significance
Because grass rapidly fades under the parching heat of Palestine's sun, it provided sacred writers with a powerful image of human frailty and the brevity of life. The psalmist compares man to grass that flourishes in the morning but withers by evening. Isaiah declares that all flesh is grass, and its glory like the flower that fades. This imagery emphasizes human mortality in contrast to God's eternal word.
☩Practical Uses
Dried grass and stalks were commonly used as fuel for ovens in Palestine, especially in districts where wood was scarce. Jesus used this practice to illustrate God's care: if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is thrown into the oven tomorrow, how much more will He provide for His people. The mention of 'green grass' in the feeding of the 5,000 indicates the season and provides an undesigned mark of historical accuracy.
Related Verses57 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Grass," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. III (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Grass," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. II (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.James Hastings (ed.), "Grass," in Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1906–1908).
- 4.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Grass," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).