Greek word · G5528

χόρτος

chortos

grass

Grass, fodder, pasture. It can also mean green growth in general (Matt 6:30; 13:26, where it is the young blade of grain).

Appears 15 times in 13 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 30, 2026

What it means

χόρτος, -ου, ὁ

[in LXX chiefly for עֶשֶׂב, also for חָצִיר, etc. ;]

1. an enclosure, a feeding place (Hom.).

(AS)

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

Range of meaning: Grass, fodder, pasture. It can also mean green growth in general (Matt 6:30; 13:26, where it is the young blade of grain).
Against the English: 'Grass' is accurate. It only needs the background below.
Used elsewhere in the period: Mark 6:39 says 'green grass' and John 6:4, 10 notes 'much grass' and that Passover was near, which points to spring in Galilee, the only season when the hills are green. Psalm 23 (LXX 22:2) has the shepherd making his flock lie down in a green place.

Range of meaning: Originally an enclosed feeding-place, then fodder, then generally green vegetation: grass, herbage, wild plants, and hay once cut and dried (BDAG, LSJ).
Against the English: English 'grass' suggests lawn turf. In Galilee χόρτος covered every kind of wild plant growing in the open, flowering plants included. YLT's 'herb of the field' catches the wider sense.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) χόρτος translates Hebrew ʿēśeb and ḥāṣîr. It is the standard image of how short human life is: 'All flesh is grass… the grass withers, the flower fades' (Isa 40:6–8 LXX, quoted in 1 Pet 1:24); also Ps 90(89):5–6; 103(102):15; 37(36):2. In Matthew, the crowds sit on the χόρτος at the feeding (14:19).

Range of meaning: Originally an enclosed feeding ground. Later it meant grass, fodder, and green vegetation of the field in general, including the herbs and flowering plants growing in it.
Against the English: KJV, WEB and ESV have "grass". BSB has "plant". To modern readers "grass" suggests turf or lawns. The word means wild field growth, spangled with flowers in spring and burned or fed to animals once it dried (Matthew 6:30).
How it drifted: Modern experience of watered, mown lawns softens an image built on the dry Mediterranean year, where green growth is brief.
Used elsewhere in the period: Isaiah 40:6–8 in the Greek: "All flesh is grass (chortos), and all the glory of man like the flower of grass; the grass withered and the flower fell." See also Psalm 37:2; 90:5–6; 103:15–16; Job 14:2; Matthew 6:30; 1 Peter 1:24, which quotes Isaiah 40.

Matthew · 3

Matthew 6:30 χόρτον grass

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Here: Wild green growth of the open country, which includes the flowering plants ('lilies') of v. 28. Jesus deliberately downgrades the splendid flowers to 'grass', the cheapest and shortest-lived plant life there is.
Matthew 13:26 χόρτος plants

When the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.

Here: The green blade or stalk of the grain plant before it ripens, the young wheat. The Greek doesn't say "wheat" here; BSB supplies it from context, which is correct.
Matthew 14:19 χόρτου, grass,

And He directed the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He spoke a blessing. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

Here: Grass or pasture. Mark calls it 'green grass' and John says Passover was near, so this is a spring scene. It also brings to mind sheep lying down in pasture (Mark 6:34 calls the crowd 'sheep without a shepherd').

Mark · 2

Mark 4:28 χόρτον a plant

All by itself the earth produces a crop—first the stalk, then the head, then grain that ripens within.

Here: The first green blade of young wheat or barley. At this stage it looks like any grass and shows no sign yet of the grain to come.
Mark 6:39 χόρτῳ. grass.

Then Jesus directed them to have the people sit in groups on the green grass.

Here: Grass or pasture, the food of grazing flocks. After v.34 ('sheep without a shepherd'), the crowd is now laid down on pasture by a shepherd.

Luke · 1

Luke 12:28 χόρτον grass

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith!

John · 1

John 6:10 χόρτος grass

“Have the people sit down,” Jesus said. Now there was plenty of grass in that place, so the men sat down, about five thousand of them.

Here: Grass or green growth, the kind of pasture flocks graze on. The detail fits the spring season of Passover (v.4) and explains how thousands could recline comfortably outdoors.

1 Corinthians · 1

1 Corinthians 3:12 χόρτον, hay,

If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw,

Here: Grass or dried grass. As a building material it was used for thatch or as a binder in mud plaster and brick. It is cheap and flimsy and goes up in flames at once.

James · 2

James 1:10 χόρτου of grass

But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field.

Here: The wild green growth of field and hillside. 'Flower of grass' means the wildflowers that spring up among the grass after the rains and die off when the hot weather comes.
James 1:11 χόρτον grass

For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

Here: Wild green growth of the fields: grasses and the plants that flower among them. This is not a mown lawn. It is the short-lived spring growth of the hillsides.

1 Peter · 3

1 Peter 1:24 χόρτος, χόρτου· χόρτος, grass,, of grass;

For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,

Here: The wild green growth of open pasture, lush after the winter rains and brown within days of hot wind. It is a picture of something common, cheap and short-lived.

Revelation · 2

Revelation 8:7 χόρτος [the] grass

Then the first angel sounded his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, along with a third of the trees and all the green grass.

Here: Grass and low green plants of the field, including pasture and fodder. It echoes Exodus 9:25 in the Greek translation, where the hail struck 'all the grass (χόρτον) of the field'.
Revelation 9:4 χόρτον grass

They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

Here: Grass and green fodder. This is what a locust swarm normally eats first.

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