Greek word · G2814

κλῆμα

klēma

branch

A shoot or branch, especially of a grapevine (BDAG, LSJ). It is different from κλάδος, the general word for a tree branch.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 22, 2026

What it means

κλῆμα, -τος, τό

(κλάω), [in LXX chiefly for זְמוֹרָה, דָּלִיָּה, Ezekiel 15:2, al. ;]

a vine-twig, vine-branch: John 15:2, 4-6.†

(AS)

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

Range of meaning: A shoot or branch, especially of a grapevine (BDAG, LSJ). It is different from κλάδος, the general word for a tree branch.
Against the English: 'Branch' is fine. English does not show that the Greek word belongs specifically to vines.
Used elsewhere in the period: Plato (Republic 353a) speaks of cutting a vine's klēma with a pruning knife. Ezekiel 15 in the Septuagint uses vine-branch language for a vine whose wood is good only for fire, which is close to John 15:6.

Range of meaning: A vine shoot or vine branch. It comes from κλάω, "to break", and is the tender, flexible shoot of a grapevine that is pruned, trained, and carries the grape clusters. It is distinct from κλάδος, the general word for a tree branch.
Against the English: "Branch" is fine, but in English it can suggest a solid tree limb that could almost stand on its own. A κλῆμα is thin and green and lives only through the vine. Cut off, it withers within days.
Used elsewhere in the period: Used in Greek writers for vine shoots (LSJ). In the Greek Old Testament it appears in vine passages such as Ezekiel 15:2, 17:6–7, Joel 1:7 and Nahum 2:2. In the New Testament it appears only in John 15:2, 4, 5 and 6.

Range of meaning: A shoot, tendril or branch, especially of a grapevine. It comes from klaō, "to break", meaning something broken or cut off, a cutting. It is the slender, flexible fruit-bearing growth that a vinedresser prunes each season.
Against the English: "Branch" in English suggests a solid tree limb. A klēma is a thin, pliable vine shoot. Paul uses a different word, klados, for the olive branches in Romans 11.
Used elsewhere in the period: In Greek farming writers and in the LXX (e.g. Ezek 15:2; 17:6–7; Joel 1:7) klēma is the normal word for vine shoots. Ezekiel 15 asks what vine wood is good for and answers that it is good only for fuel. That is the background for verse 6, where unfruitful branches are burned.

John · 4

John 15:2 κλῆμα branch

He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful.

Here: The word for a grapevine's branch or shoot in particular, not just any tree branch. It keeps the picture tied to the vine of verse 1.
John 15:4 κλῆμα branch

Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.

Here: Specifically the soft, bendable shoot of a grapevine, the part that carries the grape clusters. It is not a sturdy tree limb.
John 15:5 κλήματα. branches.

I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.

Here: The flexible shoots of a grapevine, the parts that carry the grapes and get pruned. They have no life of their own and no fruit apart from the plant.
John 15:6 κλῆμα branch

If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.

Here: Specifically a shoot of a grapevine, not just any tree branch. Its whole value is in bearing grapes, and once cut off it is useless.

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