Greek word · G2326

θερισμός

therismos

harvest

Harvest: the act of reaping, the harvest season, or the crop itself. In the prophets and in Jewish writings of Jesus' time, harvest is a common picture for God's decisive end-time act. 4:13]; Jer 51:33; Hos 6:11).

Appears 13 times in 8 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 25, 2026

What it means

θερισμός, -οῦ, ὁ

(θερίζω), [in LXX chiefly for קָצִיר ;]

harvest;

(a) the act: John 4:35;

(b) the time: fig., Matthew 13:30, 39, Mark 4:29

(with) the crop: figuratively, Matthew 9:37-38, Luke 10:2, Revelation 14:15.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Matthew 9:38

Range of meaning: Harvest: the act of reaping, the harvest season, or the crop itself. In the prophets and in Jewish writings of Jesus' time, harvest is a common picture for God's decisive end-time act. It can mean gathering his people in (Isa 27:12) or judgment, as when the sickle goes in because the harvest is ripe (Joel 3:13 [Heb. 4:13]; Jer 51:33; Hos 6:11).
Against the English: Modern readers often hear 'harvest' as a positive picture of successful evangelism ('souls to be won'). The Gospel picture is more urgent and more double-edged: a harvest is a deadline, and in Matthew it is tied to the end of the age.
How it drifted: Church use has narrowed 'harvest' to mission results, and the background of the time of reckoning has dropped out.
Used elsewhere in the period: Matt 13:30, 39: 'the harvest is the end of the age,' when wheat is gathered and weeds burned. Rev 14:15–16: 'the harvest of the earth is ripe.' John 4:35–38: fields 'white for harvest.' Joel 3:13 LXX uses therismos for the harvest of judgment.

From the study of John 4:35

Range of meaning: The act or season of reaping grain, and by extension the crop that is reaped. In Jewish usage it was also a common picture of God's final gathering or judgment, when the 'crop' of history is brought in.
Against the English: English 'harvest' carries the same literal meaning, but modern readers seldom hear the end-of-the-age echo that a Jew of the period would have caught.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint, LXX) it renders Hebrew qāṣîr, the grain harvest (Gen 8:22; Lev 23:10). Harvest as a picture of the end: Joel 3:13 [4:13 in Hebrew] ('put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe'); Isa 27:12; Hos 6:11. In the Gospels: Matt 9:37–38 ('the harvest is plentiful'), Matt 13:30, 39 ('the harvest is the end of the age'); Rev 14:15 ('the harvest of the earth is ripe').

From the study of Matthew 13:30

Range of meaning: The act or season of reaping, and the crop that is reaped. In the prophets and later Jewish writing it is a common image for God's decisive judgment and gathering at the end.
Against the English: 'Harvest' is accurate. English readers may hear only a farming season, but the first hearers would also have heard the prophetic image of a day of reckoning.
Used elsewhere in the period: Joel 3:13 (4:13 in Hebrew): 'Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe', spoken of judging the nations. Isaiah 27:12 pictures Israel gathered 'one by one' like threshed grain. Jeremiah 51:33 calls Babylon's judgment its harvest. Similar language appears in 4 Ezra 4:28-32 and 2 Baruch 70:2. In the New Testament: Matthew 9:37-38; Mark 4:29; Revelation 14:15. Jesus himself explains it here: 'the harvest is the end of the age' (13:39).

Where it appears

Matthew · 6

Matthew 9:37 θερισμὸς harvest

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

Here: Literally grain-reaping, both the activity and the standing crop. In Jewish and early Christian speech it was also a picture of God's decisive end-time gathering of his people (and sorting of the crop). Here it stands for the crowds of Israel, ready to be gathered in.
Matthew 9:38 θερισμοῦ θερισμὸν harvest

Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.”

Here: The ripe crop, or the work of reaping it. Here it stands for the crowds of Israel in verse 36, ready to be gathered in. The image also carries the prophets' sense of a harvest at the decisive end-time.
Matthew 13:30 θερισμοῦ· θερισμοῦ harvest;, harvest

Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’”

Here: The reaping season. In Jesus' own explanation (13:39) it stands for 'the end of the age', an image of final judgment that goes back to the prophets.
Matthew 13:39 θερισμὸς the harvest

and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

Here: Harvest time, when the crop is gathered and sorted. In the prophets it was an established image for God's final judgment.

Mark · 1

Mark 4:29 θερισμός.¶ harvest.

And as soon as the grain is ripe, he swings the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Luke · 3

Luke 10:2 θερισμὸς θερισμοῦ θερισμὸν harvest [is], harvest

And He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.

Here: The reaping of a ripe crop. The image carries Israel's prophetic picture of God's decisive end-time gathering (see studies).

John · 2

John 4:35 θερισμὸς θερισμόν harvest

Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest.

Here: The grain harvest. In Israel's scriptures it was also a standing picture of God's decisive gathering at the end.

Revelation · 1

Revelation 14:15 θερισμὸς harvest

Then another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice to the One seated on the cloud, “Swing Your sickle and reap, because the time has come to harvest, for the crop of the earth is ripe.”

Here: Here it means the standing crop waiting to be reaped, not the act of harvesting.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.