Word Study for G5528 (χόρτος)

chórtos /khor'-tos/ Ask about this word

Rootapparently a primary word

Meaninga "court" or "garden", i.e. (by implication, of pasture) herbage or vegetation

KJV usageblade, grass, hay.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of chórtos — 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 chórtos, represented by G5528, refers to herbage or vegetation, commonly translated as grass, blade, or hay. It appears 15 times across 13 unique verses in the Bible. While it often describes the natural landscape, it is most frequently used as a powerful symbol for the temporary and fragile nature of human life and worldly things.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In its literal sense, G5528 sets the scene for Jesus' miracles, such as when He commanded the multitude to sit on the grass to be fed (Matthew 14:19; Mark 6:39; John 6:10). The word also appears in agricultural parables, describing the initial stage of growth as the blade (Matthew 13:26; Mark 4:28). Theologically, it is used to illustrate the impermanence of human existence. The Apostle Peter states that "all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass" 1 Peter 1:24. This theme is echoed in James, where the rich man is said to "pass away" like the "flower of the grass" James 1:10, which withers under the sun James 1:11. In Revelation, "all green grass" is subject to divine judgment Revelation 8:7, yet it is also protected by divine command Revelation 9:4.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words provide deeper context for the meaning of G5528:

G438 ánthos (a blossom): This word for flower is almost always paired with chórtos to emphasize the fleeting nature of beauty and life, which fades as quickly as the grass withers (1 Peter 1:24; James 1:10).
G3583 xēraínō (to desiccate; by implication, to shrivel, to mature): This verb, meaning to wither, is the action performed upon the grass to complete the metaphor of mortality and the effects of hardship or judgment (James 1:11; 1 Peter 1:24).
G2562 kalámē (stubble): In his analogy of building upon a spiritual foundation, Paul lists hay G5528 and stubble together as perishable materials that cannot withstand the fire of judgment, unlike gold G5557 or silver G696 1 Corinthians 3:12.
G1093 gē (soil; by extension a region, or the solid part or the whole of the terrene globe): As the earth or ground, it is the source from which grass grows, often appearing as "the grass of the earth" Revelation 9:4 or "grass of the field" Matthew 6:30.

Theological Significance

The theological weight of G5528 is primarily symbolic, serving to teach key spiritual truths.

The Transience of Humanity: The most prominent use of chórtos is as a metaphor for the temporary nature of human life and glory. Scripture reminds believers that, like grass, human existence is frail and short-lived (1 Peter 1:24, James 1:10).
God's Sovereign Care: Jesus uses God's care for the "grass of the field" as an argument for His providential care over humanity. If God clothes something so temporary, He will surely provide for His children (Matthew 6:30; Luke 12:28).
The Worth of Spiritual Works: Paul contrasts eternal works with perishable ones by likening the latter to wood G3586, hay G5528, and stubble G2562, which will be consumed by fire, demonstrating their lack of eternal value 1 Corinthians 3:12.
An Instrument of Divine Judgment: In the end times, the destruction of "all green grass" is depicted as part of a catastrophic judgment poured out upon the earth G1093 Revelation 8:7.

Summary

In summary, G5528 is a simple word for grass or vegetation that carries profound theological significance. It functions both literally, as the ground covering where Jesus performed miracles, and metaphorically, as the Bible's primary symbol for the fleeting nature of mortal life and worldly pursuits. From God's care for the grass of the field to its destruction in judgment, chórtos consistently points believers away from the temporary and toward the eternal.

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 15 occurrences, inflected in 4 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it. These are this word’s own inflections, not words built from it — for those, see Related Words.

χόρτον
χόρτος
χόρτου
χόρτῳ

Related Words

1 entry in Strong’s name this word as its origin. These are its derivatives — a different relationship from the inflected forms above, which are this same word bent by grammar.

Other entries the study above points to — each one is drawn from a reference it makes. Follow the trail to see how the words connect.

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 13 verses across 8 of the 27 books. Most frequent in Matthew (3 verses); never once in the other 19.

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

1 Corinthians

James

1 Peter

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, by grammatical form, 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.