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Plants of the Bible
Grapevine
Hebrew gefen (vine), kerem (vineyard) · Greek ampelos · Vitis vinifera
The grapevine was grown in the Near East and in Egypt long before Israel, and Egyptian tomb paintings show the whole work of the vineyard. The Bible tells that Noah was the first to plant one (Genesis 9:20). The vines of Canaan were famous for their huge clusters: the spies carried a single cluster on a pole between two men (Numbers 13:23).
Isaiah describes how a vineyard was made: the ground was dug, the stones cleared, the best vines planted, a watchtower built and a winepress cut out of the rock (Isaiah 5:1–2). A wall or hedge kept out animals and thieves, and at harvest someone watched from the tower. The vines were trained on supports and pruned by vinedressers. Grapes were eaten fresh, dried into raisins or trodden for wine. Gleaners could take what was left (Leviticus 19:10), and a man who had planted a vineyard and not yet enjoyed its fruit could go home from the army.
Key verses
When they came to the Valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which they carried on a pole between two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs.I will sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it up and cleared the stones and planted the finest vines. He built a watchtower in the middle and dug out a winepress as well. He waited for the vineyard to yield good grapes, but the fruit it produced was sour!You must not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.Has any man planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy its fruit? Let him return home, or he may die in battle and another man enjoy its fruit.Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.Sources
Adapted and shortened from the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0
Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers · CC BY-SA 4.0 — Vines, Vineyard; Plants: Vine (Vitis vinifera)
Adapted from Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary: articles chosen, shortened and retold in our own words (history, nature and daily life only) and, in languages other than English, machine-translated. The original work by Tyndale House Publishers is available for free at tyndaleopenresources.com.
