What does κλῆμα (klēma) mean in the Bible?
Klema names a branch or shoot, and in the New Testament it appears in Jesus' true-vine teaching in John 15. The branches are not independent spiritual units.
Greek · G2814
κλῆμα
A limb or shoot (as if broken off)
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
κλῆμα G2814
Pronunciation klēma
What does κλῆμα (klēma) mean in the Bible?
Klema names a branch or shoot, and in the New Testament it appears in Jesus' true-vine teaching in John 15. The branches are not independent spiritual units.
Reader summary
Full entry for κλῆμα (G2814) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2814?
The BSB source-word alignment has 4 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include branch (3), branches (1).
Where does κλῆμα (klēma) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at John 15:2. Its strongest book concentrations include John (4).
Are there verse guides for κλῆμα (klēma)?
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
Klema names a branch or shoot, and in the New Testament it appears in Jesus' true-vine teaching in John 15. The branches are not independent spiritual units. They are defined by relationship to the vine, by the Father's pruning, by fruitfulness, and by the warning attached to not remaining. Jesus says no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, then tells His disciples, I am the vine and you are the branches.
The word should therefore be taught through dependence on Christ, not through generic growth imagery. It helps readers understand discipleship as living connection, fruitful abiding, and sober warning rather than self-generated religious productivity.
How the Bible Uses It
Klema names branches in John 15. The word serves Jesus' true-vine teaching: branches bear fruit only by remaining in Him and face warning when detached from Him.
- John.15.2
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.
Jesus distinguishes branches that bear no fruit from branches the Father prunes for more fruit.
- John.15.4
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.
A branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine.
- John.15.5
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.
Jesus identifies His disciples as branches dependent on Him, the vine.
- John.15.6
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.
Jesus warns that the non-remaining branch withers and is burned.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It branch 3× John 15:2, John 15:4, John 15:6
branches 1× John 15:5
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row John 15:2
Aligned rows 4
Books represented 1
John 4
Source forms
κλῆμα 3x klēma John 15:2, John 15:4, John 15:6
κλήματα 1x klēmata John 15:5
Parsing patterns
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular 2x John 15:4, John 15:6
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular 1x John 15:2
Noun - Nominative Neuter Plural 1x John 15:5
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Let branch language lead to dependence on Christ, not confidence in visible activity.
- Receive pruning language as the Father's fruitful care while still taking Jesus' warning seriously.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that branches can bear Christian fruit apart from remaining in Christ.
- Do not use John 15 to promise painless growth or to remove the passage's warning.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Vine-branch detached or severed, emphasizing the severed relationship between branch and vine.
Source Gloss
a limb or shoot (as if broken off)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
4 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
John 15:2 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
κλῆμα klhma
a branch, shoot
Read verse John 15:4 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
κλῆμα klhma
a branch, shoot
Read verse klhmata
a branch, shoot
Read verse John 15:6 Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
κλῆμα, klhma
a branch, shoot
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 3 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 3 Aligned forms 4 Case pattern Nominative (3) Number pattern Singular (3)
Nominative · Singular · Neuter John 15:4 · John 15:6 2×
Accusative · Singular · Neuter John 15:2 1×
Word Origins
κλῆμα is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Klema makes John 15 concrete. Jesus does not merely command His disciples to be productive; He describes them as branches whose life and fruit depend entirely on remaining in Him. The branch image humbles both pride and despair. Pride is corrected because the branch cannot bear fruit by itself. Despair is corrected because fruitful branches are tended by the Father, even through pruning.
The warning is also real: a branch that does not remain withers and faces judgment language. Teachers should therefore resist using the branch as a mild image for personal growth. In John 15, branch language summons disciples to abiding dependence on Christ, to Father's pruning care, to fruit that proves living connection, and to sober perseverance.
Anchor passage
John.15.5
Doctrinal connections
- G288 Ampelos: The branch is intelligible only in relation to the vine, which Jesus identifies as Himself.
- G3306 Meno: Remaining is the command that governs the branch's life and fruitfulness.
- G2590 Karpos: Fruit is the visible outcome of living connection to the vine.
- G3962 Pater: The Father tends the branches as the vineyard keeper.
- G2508 Kathairo: Pruning explains the Father's fruitful care and cleansing work in John 15.
- G4442 Pyr: The withered branch warning includes fire language that must be treated soberly.
Klema names a branch or shoot, not fruit in general. In John 15 it is a metaphor controlled by Jesus' vine discourse and by the repeated command to remain.
From Old to New Testament
The Old Testament uses vine and vineyard imagery for God's people, care, fruit, and judgment. John 15 concentrates that background around Jesus as the true vine and His disciples as dependent branches.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain