βότρυς (botrus)
botrus
bunch of grapes
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The noun botrus refers simply to a cluster or bunch of grapes. In the New Testament, it appears only once, in Revelation 14:18, where an angel is instructed to gather the clusters from the vine of the earth and throw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. The word serves as a concrete image for harvest, but here it signifies judgment rather than blessing.
Its usage in the Septuagint often translates the Hebrew word eshkol, linking this single Greek term to a long history of agricultural imagery in Scripture. While grapes typically symbolize abundance and joy, the context in Revelation shifts the meaning toward destruction. The singular occurrence highlights how the same physical object can carry vastly different theological weights depending on its narrative setting.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word botrus describes a tight cluster of grapes. In Scripture, fruit usually signals God’s blessing and abundance. Yet in Revelation 14:18, this same image carries a heavy weight. An angel gathers these ripe clusters from the earth’s vine to cast them into a winepress. Here, the harvest does not bring joy but judgment.
This shift reminds us that God sees the full state of the world. What looks like ripeness to human eyes may actually be ready for reckoning. The image warns against assuming that outward success always means spiritual health. It calls us to examine our hearts honestly before the Lord.
Still, this warning points to a just God who will set things right. We can trust His timing and His justice. Even when the path seems dark, we rest in the hope that He will ultimately bring peace and restore what is broken.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- clusters1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- βότρυας1×
Key Verses
-
Revelation of John 14:18
Another angel came out from the altar, he who has power over fire, and he called with a great voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Send your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for the earth’s grapes are fully ripe!”
This verse uniquely uses botrus to depict a harvest of judgment, contrasting with its usual association with blessing in the Old Testament.