אֶשְׁכּוֹל (esh.kol)
esh.kol
cluster
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 7 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun eshkol refers to a cluster, most commonly describing a bunch of grapes hanging from a vine. In the Old Testament, this image appears in seven verses, serving as a tangible symbol of abundance and harvest. Numbers 13:23 famously records the Israelite spies carrying a single massive cluster on a pole, illustrating the richness of the land they had entered.
Beyond agriculture, the word carries poetic weight. In Song of Solomon, it describes the lover’s hair cascading down like a dark bunch of grapes (Song 4:3; 7:5). This usage transforms a simple agricultural term into a metaphor for beauty and vitality. The visual connection between the dense, heavy fruit and flowing hair creates a vivid picture of natural elegance.
Translators typically render eshkol as "cluster" or "bunch," preserving the concrete nature of the original word. It does not refer to scattered berries but to fruit bound together by necessity and growth. This collective imagery reinforces themes of unity and plenty, whether in the context of divine provision or romantic admiration.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word eshkol describes a tight bunch of grapes, heavy with juice and bound together by nature. In ancient Israel, this image was more than agricultural data; it was a sign of God’s generous provision. When the spies returned from Canaan carrying such a cluster, they showed a land flowing with abundance. This tangible evidence reminded the people that their future rested on divine promise rather than human effort alone.
Later writers used this same image to describe beauty and intimacy. In Song of Solomon, a lover’s hair is compared to a dark, cascading cluster. Here, the word moves from the field to the heart, showing how God uses simple, earthly things to express deep affection. The fruit remains whole and united, reflecting a wholeness that comes from being part of something larger than oneself.
Even in times of judgment, the cluster serves as a warning or a hope. Isaiah notes that new wine found in a cluster is not destroyed because a blessing lies within it. This suggests that even when things seem ripe for loss, God sees the potential for good. For us today, this word invites trust in His timing and recognition of the blessings hidden in our daily lives.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 7 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- the/ cluster1×
- in the/ cluster of grapes1×
- clusters/ its1×
- clusters1×
- and/ a cluster of1×
- [is] a cluster of grapes1×
- [is] [the] cluster of1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- וְ/אֶשְׁכּ֤וֹל1×
- הָֽ/אֶשְׁכּ֔וֹל1×
- בָּֽ/אֶשְׁכּ֔וֹל1×
- אַשְׁכְּלֹתֶ֖י/הָ1×
- אַשְׁכְּלֹ֥ת1×
- אֶשְׁכֹּ֨ל1×
- אֶשְׁכּ֣וֹל1×
Key Verses
-
Numbers 13:23
They came to the valley of Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bore it on a staff between two. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs.
This verse establishes the cluster as a concrete proof of the land's fertility, carried publicly to silence fear and confirm God's promise.
-
Song of Solomon 1:14
My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi.
The cluster here shifts from food to fragrance, using the henna blossoms to depict the beloved’s presence as sweet and intimate.
-
Isaiah 65:8
Yahweh says, “As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for a blessing is in it:’ so I will do for my servants’ sake, that I may not destroy them all.
God uses the cluster containing new wine as a metaphor for preserving His servants, showing that blessing prevents total destruction.