Dictionaries :: Grass

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Grass:

(1.) Heb. hatsir, ripe grass fit for mowing (1Ki 18:5; Job 40:15; Psa 104:14). As the herbage rapidly fades under the scorching sun, it is used as an image of the brevity of human life (Isa 40:6,7; Psa 90:5). In Num 11:5 this word is rendered "leeks."

(2.) Heb. deshe', green grass (Gen 1:11,12; Isa 66:14; Deu 32:2). "The sickly and forced blades of grass which spring up on the flat plastered roofs of houses in the East are used as an emblem of speedy destruction, because they are small and weak, and because, under the scorching rays of the sun, they soon wither away" (2Ki 19:26; Psa 129:6; Isa 37:27).

The dry stalks of grass were often used as fuel for the oven (Mat 6:30; 13:30; Luk 12:28).

International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia

Grass:

gras:

(1) chatsir, from a root meaning "greenness"; compare Arabic Khudra, which includes grasses and green vegetables (1Ki 18:5; 2Ki 19:26; Job 40:15; Ps 104:14, etc.). Isa 15:6 is translated in the King James Version "have," the Revised Version (British and American) "grass"; Pr 27:25, English Versions of the Bible "hay," margin "Hebrew grass"; Nu 11:5 English Versions of the Bible translates "leeks." It is a term for herbage in general.

(2) deshe', from root meaning "to sprout abundantly." Generally translated "tender grass" (Ge 1:11 f; 2Sa 23:4; Job 6:5; Isa 15:6; 66:14; Jer 14:5, etc.); translated "grass" (Job 6:5; Jer 14:5); translated "herb" (2Ki 19:26; Ps 27:2; Isa 37:27; 66:14). In Jer 50:11 we have "heifer at grass" (deshe') in the King James Version and the Revised Version, margin, but in the Revised Version (British and American) "heifer that treadeth out the grain." (dethe'), the Aramaic form, occurs in Da 4:15,23, and is translated "tender grass."

(3) chashash, probably "dry" or "cut grass"; compare Arabic chashesh, "dry fodder" or "cut grass" (Isa 5:24, the King James Version "chaff," the Revised Version (British and American) "dry grass"; Isa 33:11, English Versions of the Bible "chaff").

(4) leqesh, from root meaning "to come late," hence used in Am 7:1 for the "latter growth" of grass after mowing.

(5) yereq, literally, "green thing" (Nu 22:4, elsewhere translated "herb").

(6) ‘esebh (De 11:15, etc.), generally translated "herb" (for (5) and (6) see HERB).

(7) chortos (Mt 6:30; 14:19; Mr 6:39; Lu 12:28; Joh 6:10; Jas 1:10,11; 1Pe 1:24; Re 8:7; 9:4); translated "blade" (Mt 13:26 Mr 4:28); translated "hay" (1Co 3:12).

There are 243 species of true grasses (Natural Order, Gramineae) in Palestine, but Hebrew, like modern Arabic, does not discriminate between these and other herbs which together make up herbage. Actual turf is practically unknown in Palestine, and grass seed is not artificially sown; young green barley is used in the neighborhood of towns as fresh fodder for horses and cattle. It is not the native custom to cut herbage for hay, though the writer has seen many carloads of sweet-smelling hay being carried from the land by Circassian settlers, East of the Jordan.

The "grass upon the house tops" (Ps 129:6; Isa 37:27), the growth which springs from the seeds mingled with the mud of which the roof is made, springs up quickly with the rains, but as quickly dries up before it reaches half its normal height-or not infrequently is set on fire.

Dew, rain or showers upon the grass are mentioned (De 32:6; Pr 19:12; Mic 5:7; Ps 72:6, "rain upon the mown grass," i.e. the grass eaten short by cattle).

Written by E. W. G. Masterman

Nave's Topical Bible

Grass: Created on the Third Creative Day

Gen 1:11

Grass: Mown

Psa 72:6

Grass: God's Care Of

Mat 6:30; Luk 12:28

Grass: On Roofs of Houses

Psa 129:6

Grass: Figurative

Psa 90:5, 6; Isa 40:6; 1Pe 1:24; Jam 1:10, 11

Torrey's New Topical Textbook

Grass: A Green Herb

Mar 6:39

Grass: Called

Grass of the earth

Rev 9:4

Grass of the field

Num 22:4

Grass: Springs Out of the Earth

2Sa 23:4

Grass: God

Originally created

Gen 1:11,12

The giver of

Deu 11:15

Causes to grow

Psa 104:14; 147:8

Adorns and clothes

Mat 6:30

Grass: Often Grew on the Tops of Houses

Psa 129:6

Grass: When Young, Soft and Tender

Pro 27:25

Grass: Refreshed by Rain and Dew

Deu 32:2; Pro 19:12

Grass: Cattle Fed Upon

Job 6:5; Jer 50:11

Grass: Ovens Often Heated With

Mat 6:30

Grass: Destroyed By

Locusts

Rev 9:4

Hail and lightning

Rev 8:7

Drought

1Ki 17:1; 18:5

Grass: Failure Of, a Great Calamity

Isa 15:5,6

Grass: Sufferings of Cattle from Failure Of, Described

Jer 14:5,6

Grass: Illustrative

Of shortness and uncertainty of life

Psa 90:5,6; 103:15; Isa 40:6,7; 1Pe 1:24

Of prosperity of the wicked

Psa 92:7

(Refreshed by dew and showers,) of the saints refreshed by grace

Psa 72:6; Mic 5:7

(On tops of houses,) of the wicked

2Ki 19:26; Isa 37:27

Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words

Grass:

primarily denoted "a feeding enclosure" (whence Latin hortus, "a garden;" Eng., "yard," and "garden"); then, "food," especially grass for feeding cattle; it is translated "grass" in Mat 6:30; 14:19; Mar 6:39 (where "the green grass" is the first evidence of early spring); Luk 12:28; Jhn 6:10; Jam 1:10, 11; 1Pe 1:24; Rev 8:7; 9:4; "blade" in Mat 13:26; Mar 4:28; "hay" in 1Cr 3:12, used figuratively. In Palestine or Syria there are 90 genera and 243 species of grass.