Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

GRAPES

The most prominent fruit in the Bible and an important agricultural product of the ancient Near East. Grapes (Heb. ʿēnāḇ; Gk. staphylḗ) grow on grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.), which must be pruned to ensure abundant fruiting. Grapes ripen in the summer, and are picked quickly thereafter to avoid damage from insects and rotting. Grapes were eaten fresh and as raisins, which could be baked into cakes (Hos. 3:1). Grapes were also processed into syrup, vinegar, and wine, which was the most common use for grapes in ancient Israel. The grape juice was extracted by treading upon the grapes in a grape press. Grape-treading appears to have been a joyous occasion which involved the entire community (Judg. 9:27).

The spies that Moses sent into Canaan brought back a cluster of grapes so large that it was carried on a pole between two men (Num. 13:23). Various biblical laws apply to grapes, such as the provision which allows one to eat grapes from a neighbor’s vineyard, but prohibits any from being put in a container (Deut. 23:24). Grapes also have symbolic uses. In Isaiah’s Song of the Vineyard (Isa. 5:1-7) rotten grapes represent Judah’s depravity. The famous proverb “the parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge” (Jer. 31:29), pertaining to the consequence of wrongdoing for later generations, was refuted by Ezekiel (Ezek. 18:2-3).

Megan Bishop Moore

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

GRAPES

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)