Greek word · G5452

φυτεύω

phyteuō

to plant

To plant, used of trees, vines, gardens and seed crops. By extension it can mean to establish or found something. In Jewish writings it is often used of God planting his people (Israel as God's vine or planting).

Appears 11 times in 11 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

φυτεύω

(φυτόν, a plant, φύω), [in LXX chiefly for נָטַע, also for שָׁתַל, etc. ;]

to plant: Luke 17:28, 1 Corinthians 3:6-8; with accusative, φυτείαν, Matthew 15:13; ἀμπελῶνα, Matthew 21:33, Mark 12:1, Luke 20:9, 1 Corinthians 9:7; pass., before ἐν, Luke 13:6 17:6.†

(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 1 Corinthians 3:6

Range of meaning

To plant, used of trees, vines, gardens and seed crops. By extension it can mean to establish or found something. In Jewish writings it is often used of God planting his people (Israel as God's vine or planting).

Against the English

English 'planted' fits well. The BSB adds 'the seed', which is not in the Greek. The NLT adds 'in your hearts', which shifts the picture from a community to individuals.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint, or LXX), God 'plants' Israel: Exod 15:17; Ps 80:8 (LXX 79:9) 'you planted it'; Jer 24:6; Amos 9:15. Jesus uses it in Matt 15:13 ('every plant my Father has not planted'). Paul uses it again in 1 Cor 9:7 ('who plants a vineyard?'). Qumran's Community Rule calls the community an 'eternal planting' (1QS 8:5).

From the study of 1 Corinthians 3:7

Range of meaning

To plant: setting seeds, seedlings or trees in the ground, or establishing a vineyard or orchard. Used figuratively for founding or establishing something.

Against the English

"Plant" is an accurate rendering. BSB's "planted the seed" (v. 6) narrows the picture slightly, because the Greek could equally mean setting out a seedling or a vine.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint), God is often the one who plants his people: Exodus 15:17 ("you will plant them on the mountain of your inheritance"), Psalm 80:8 (the vine brought out of Egypt), Isaiah 5:2 (the vineyard song), and Jeremiah 1:10 and 24:6 ("to build and to plant"). Greek writers on education also compared teaching to farming. Plato (Phaedrus 276e–277a) speaks of planting words in a soul. The treatise On the Education of Children (attributed to Plutarch, 2B) compares nature to the soil, the teacher to the farmer, and the teacher's words to the seed.

From the study of 1 Corinthians 9:7

Range of meaning

To plant: trees, vines, gardens. Used figuratively for founding or establishing something.

Against the English

'Plants' is accurate in every version.

Used elsewhere in the period

Septuagint: Deuteronomy 20:6 ('who has planted a vineyard and not yet enjoyed it'), Deuteronomy 28:30, Isaiah 65:21 ('they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit'), Proverbs 27:18 (LXX, 'whoever plants a fig tree will eat its fruit'). In this letter: 'I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth' (1 Corinthians 3:6–8).

Where it appears

Matthew · 2

  1. Matthew 15:13 ἐφύτευσεν has planted

    But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots.

    Here: 'Planted', a simple past (aorist) tense looking back at the act of planting. It echoes the noun just before it ('a planting he did not plant'), and the repeated sound underlines the question of origin.

  2. Matthew 21:33 ἐφύτευσεν planted

    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.

    Here: He planted it himself. The vineyard is his own project from its first vine, which echoes 'he planted a choice vine' in Isaiah 5:2.

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 12:1 ἐφύτευσεν planted

    Then Jesus began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a wine vat, and built a watchtower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.

    Here: He planted it himself. The owner did the costly, slow work of establishing the vineyard, so it is his and its fruit is owed to him.

Luke · 4

  1. Luke 13:6 πεφυτευμένην planted

    Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.

    Here: A perfect participle: 'having been planted', and still standing there planted. This was no wild tree. Someone placed it on purpose and it has had time to take root.

  2. Luke 17:6 φυτεύθητι do be planted

    And the Lord answered, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

    Here: 'Be planted!' This is a second passive command. Planting a tree in the sea is a deliberately absurd picture, an impossibility stacked on an impossibility.

  3. Luke 17:28 ἐφύτευον, they were planting,

    It was the same in the days of Lot: People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.

  4. Luke 20:9 ἐφύτευσεν planted

    Then He proceeded to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it out to some tenants, and went away for a long time.

    Here: The owner set up the vineyard himself. 'Planted a vineyard' echoes Scripture's picture of God planting Israel as his vine (Isa 5:2; Jer 2:21; Ps 80:8). It also means years of investment before any harvest.

1 Corinthians · 4

  1. 1 Corinthians 3:6 ἐφύτευσα, planted,

    I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.

    Here: 'I planted.' The tense presents a finished act, looked at as a whole. It points to Paul's founding visit to Corinth (Acts 18:1–11), when the community first came to trust (v.5).

  2. 1 Corinthians 3:7 φυτεύων planting

    So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

    Here: "The planter." In verse 6 this is Paul, who founded the Corinthian church. Here Paul leaves out his own name and speaks of the job, which plays down who did it.

  3. 1 Corinthians 3:8 φυτεύων planting

    He who plants and he who waters are one in purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.

    Here: 'The planter.' This is Paul himself (3:6, 'I planted'): the man who first brought the message to Corinth and founded the community (Acts 18:1–11). The present participle names his role, not a single act.

  4. 1 Corinthians 9:7 φυτεύει plants

    Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink of its milk?

    Here: To plant, here vines. The Corinthians had already heard this verb about Paul himself: 'I planted, Apollos watered' (3:6).

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