ἄγριος (agrios)
agrios
wild
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 3 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The adjective agrios describes something that is wild, savage, or uncultivated. It refers to things found in fields or woods rather than in settled communities. This root meaning connects directly to its usage for John the Baptist’s clothing of camel’s hair and his diet of locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6). These details emphasize a life lived outside normal social structures, marked by raw nature.
In Jude 1:10, the word shifts to describe people who are fierce or boorish. Here it carries a moral weight, suggesting a lack of refinement or control. The sources note this usage parallels how the term can describe a malignant wound—violent and uncontrolled. This contrast between the physical wildness of the desert and the moral wildness of human behavior shows the word’s range.
Its etymology links it to agros, meaning field or country. This connection highlights the distinction between the cultivated world of cities and the untamed landscape. Translators often render it as "wild" to preserve this sense of being unrefined or fierce, depending on whether the subject is an animal, a place, or a person’s character.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word agrios paints a picture of life outside the boundaries of civilization. It describes the untamed landscape, the rough clothing of camel’s hair, and the simple food of wild honey that John the Baptist wore and ate. This was not a life of luxury or social polish, but one of raw, unrefined reality in the wilderness. It reminds us that God often works through the ordinary and the rugged, rather than only through the polished halls of power.
Yet this same word carries a heavier weight in Jude 1:13, where it describes people who are fierce and boorish, like wild waves foaming with shame. Here, the lack of cultivation is moral. It shows that being 'wild' can mean losing control of one’s character, becoming destructive rather than free. The contrast invites us to consider what cultivates our own hearts.
For your faith, this word offers a dual invitation. It encourages you to appreciate the simple, grounded aspects of life, much like John in the desert. At the same time, it warns against allowing your character to become untamed and harsh. True freedom is not wildness, but a heart shaped by grace.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 3 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- wild.2×
- wild1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- ἄγριον.¶1×
- ἄγριον.1×
- ἄγρια1×
Key Verses
-
Matthew 3:4
Now John himself wore clothing made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
This verse uses the word to describe John's diet of 'wild honey,' grounding his prophetic identity in the raw, uncultivated nature of the desert rather than urban comfort.
-
Mark 1:6
John was clothed with camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey.
Here the term reinforces the physical reality of John’s isolation, linking his clothing and food to a life completely separate from settled societal structures.
-
Jude 1:13
wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever.
The word shifts from describing nature to describing people, likening false teachers to 'wild waves' that are morally unrefined and destructive in their shame.