βάτος (batos)
batos
thorn bush
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 5 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The noun batos refers to a thorny shrub or bramble bush, a common sight in the dry landscapes of the ancient Near East. In the New Testament, it appears in five verses, primarily in Luke and Acts, where it serves as a concrete image for both judgment and divine encounter.
Its most striking usage occurs in Luke 6:44, where Jesus contrasts healthy trees with batos to illustrate that people bear fruit consistent with their inner nature. A thorn bush cannot produce figs or grapes; its very essence is sharp and unyielding. This metaphor underscores the idea that moral character naturally reveals itself through action.
The word also appears in Acts 7:30, where Stephen recalls Moses seeing the bush burning but not being consumed. Here, batos highlights the paradox of God’s presence: something ordinary and lowly becomes the vessel for extraordinary holiness. The text does not suggest the bush was magically transformed into something else, but rather that it served as a focal point for divine revelation.
Translators typically render batos as "thorn bush" or "bramble," preserving its humble and rugged connotations. Unlike cultivated plants, it requires no care yet stands resilient in harsh conditions. This imagery resonates throughout Scripture, reminding readers that God often chooses the overlooked to accomplish significant purposes.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word batos describes a thorn bush, a common but rugged plant in the ancient Near East. It is not a cultivated tree like an olive or fig, but a wild shrub that thrives in harsh conditions. This imagery helps us understand two important aspects of faith: character and divine presence.
In Luke 6:44, Jesus uses this image to teach that our actions reveal our true nature. Just as a thorn bush cannot produce sweet fruit, a heart filled with bitterness will naturally show itself in unkind words or deeds. This is not about perfection, but about honesty. We can examine our lives and ask if our actions match the love we claim to hold.
At the same time, Acts 7:30 reminds us that God often chooses the ordinary to reveal His glory. The burning bush was not special because of its beauty, but because God made it a place of encounter. This offers hope when we feel overlooked or insignificant. God can use our humble, imperfect lives to display His light and truth to others.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 5 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- bush2×
- of a bush.1×
- bush —.1×
- a bramble bush1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- βάτου3×
- βάτῳ.1×
- βάτου.1×
Key Verses
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Luke 6:44
For each tree is known by its own fruit. For people don’t gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.
Jesus uses the batos to illustrate that a person's inner moral state inevitably produces corresponding outward actions, just as a thorn bush cannot yield grapes.
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Acts 7:30
“When forty years were fulfilled, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.
Stephen recalls the burning bush incident to show how God used an ordinary, wild shrub as the focal point for His revelation to Moses.
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Mark 12:26
But about the dead, that they are raised, haven’t you read in the book of Moses about the Bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?
Jesus references the account of the bush to prove the reality of resurrection, grounding His argument in the specific text where God identified Himself as the God of the living patriarchs.