Word Study for G1636 (ἐλαία)

elaía /el-ah'-yah/ Ask about this word

Rootfeminine of a presumed derivative from an obsolete primary

Meaningan olive (the tree or the fruit)

KJV usageolive (berry, tree).

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of elaía — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Greek word elaía, represented by G1636, refers to an olive, encompassing both the tree and its fruit. It appears 15 times in 15 unique verses in the Bible. This term is used both literally to describe the plant and its produce, and geographically as part of a significant location name.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In the biblical narrative, G1636 is frequently used to identify a specific location: the Mount of Olives. This site is mentioned repeatedly in the Gospels as a place Jesus and his disciples went to, particularly during the events leading up to his crucifixion (Matthew 21:1, Mark 14:26, Luke 22:39, John 8:1). The term is also used metaphorically. In Romans, the olive tree symbolizes a body of believers, with natural branches and wild branches being grafted in Romans 11:17. In a different context, James uses the term to illustrate a point of nature, questioning if a fig tree can bear olive berries James 3:12.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words expand upon the agricultural and metaphorical contexts of the olive tree:

G65 agriélaios (an oleaster): This specifies a wild olive tree, used in the grafting analogy to represent those brought into the covenant Romans 11:17.
G2565 kalliélaios (a cultivated olive tree): As the counterpart to the wild olive, this refers to the good olive tree, representing the natural or original body of believers Romans 11:24.
G2798 kládos (branch): This word is essential to the grafting metaphor, referring to the branches that are broken off or grafted into the olive tree Romans 11:17.
G4808 sykē (fig-tree): This term is often used in agricultural parables and is set in contrast to the olive, as when James asks if a fig tree can bear olive berries James 3:12.

Theological Significance

The theological weight of G1636 is most profoundly illustrated in Romans 11. It serves as a powerful symbol for understanding God's relationship with His people.

Covenant and Inclusion: The olive tree is used as a metaphor for the body of God's people. The act of grafting branches from a wild olive tree G65 into a cultivated one G1636 symbolizes the inclusion of new believers into the covenant community (Romans 11:17, Romans 11:24).
The Root's Support: The analogy emphasizes that believers are supported by the root G4491 of the olive tree, not the other way around, serving as a warning against pride Romans 11:17-18.
Prophetic Witness: In Revelation, the image is used prophetically, where "the two olive trees" are identified as two witnesses standing before God, linking the olive tree to divine representation and testimony Revelation 11:4.

Summary

In summary, G1636 elaía carries significance beyond its simple definition of an olive. It functions as a key geographical marker in the life of Jesus as the Mount of Olives Matthew 24:3 and as a complex theological symbol for God's covenant people. The detailed metaphor in Romans, contrasting the wild and cultivated olive tree Romans 11:24, provides a foundational illustration of inclusion in faith, while its use in Revelation points to a role in prophetic witness Revelation 11:4.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Greek New Testament, this word appears as a noun across 16 occurrences, inflected in 6 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form.

Genitive Plural Feminine Location 11×
Accusative Plural Feminine 1×
Dative Singular Feminine 1×
Genitive Singular Feminine 1×
Genitive Singular Masculine Location 1×
Nominative Plural Feminine 1×

Nominative: The subject of the verb.
Genitive: Possession or source — often "of".
Dative: The indirect object — often "to" or "for".
Accusative: The direct object of the verb.
Singular: One.
Plural: More than one.
Masculine: Masculine grammatical gender.
Feminine: Feminine grammatical gender.
Location: The name of a place.

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 15 verses across 7 of the 27 books. Most frequent in Luke (4 verses); never once in the other 20.

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

Romans

James

Revelation

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.