What does ἄμπελος (ámpelos) mean in the Bible?
Ampelos names a vine or grapevine. In the Synoptic Supper sayings, Jesus speaks of the fruit of the vine while looking ahead to kingdom fulfillment.
Greek · G288
ἄμπελος
A vine (as coiling about a support)
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ἄμπελος G288
Pronunciation ámpelos
What does ἄμπελος (ámpelos) mean in the Bible?
Ampelos names a vine or grapevine. In the Synoptic Supper sayings, Jesus speaks of the fruit of the vine while looking ahead to kingdom fulfillment.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἄμπελος (G288) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G288?
The BSB source-word alignment has 9 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include vine (7), [grapes] (1), a grapevine (1).
Where does ἄμπελος (ámpelos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 26:29. Its strongest book concentrations include John (3), Revelation (2), James (1), Luke (1).
Are there verse guides for ἄμπελος (ámpelos)?
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
Ampelos names a vine or grapevine. In the Synoptic Supper sayings, Jesus speaks of the fruit of the vine while looking ahead to kingdom fulfillment. In John 15, Jesus identifies Himself as the true vine and teaches that branches bear fruit only by remaining in Him. Revelation uses vine imagery in judgment, where the vine of the earth is harvested for wrath. The word should therefore be handled with passage-level care.
It can speak of ordinary vine produce, Christ's identity and disciples' dependence, and apocalyptic judgment imagery. The word itself does not make every vine passage mean the same thing. Context determines whether the focus is table promise, union with Christ, fruitfulness, or judgment.
How the Bible Uses It
Ampelos names vine language in Supper promise, John 15 discipleship, and Revelation judgment imagery. The word must be read by context because the same image serves different theological tasks.
- Matt.26.29
I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
Jesus speaks of the fruit of the vine in relation to future drinking in His Father's kingdom.
- Luke.22.18
For I tell you that I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.”
Luke connects the fruit of the vine with the coming kingdom of God.
- John.15.1
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard.
Jesus identifies Himself as the true vine and names the Father as the vineyard keeper.
- 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.
Jesus teaches that a branch cannot bear fruit 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 declares that He is the vine and His disciples are the branches.
- Rev.14.18
Still another angel, with authority over the fire, came from the altar and called out in a loud voice to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the vine of the earth, because its grapes are ripe.”
Revelation uses vine imagery for the ripe grapes of the earth in judgment.
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 vine 7× Matthew 26:29, Mark 14:25, Luke 22:18, John 15:1
[grapes] 1× Revelation 14:19
a grapevine 1× James 3:12
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 26:29 ἀμπέλου to vine Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular Mark 14:25 ἀμπέλου to vine Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular Luke 22:18 ἀμπέλου to vine Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular John 15:1 ἄμπελος to vine Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular John 15:4 ἀμπέλῳ to vine Noun - Dative Feminine Singular John 15:5 ἄμπελος to vine Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular James 3:12 ἄμπελος to a grapevine Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Revelation 14:18 ἀμπέλου to vine Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular Revelation 14:19 ἄμπελον to [grapes] Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 26:29
Aligned rows 9
Books represented 6
Matthew 1 Mark 1 Luke 1 John 3 James 1 Revelation 2
Source forms
ἀμπέλου 4x ampelou Matthew 26:29, Mark 14:25, Luke 22:18, Revelation 14:18
ἄμπελος 3x ampelos John 15:1, John 15:5, James 3:12
ἄμπελον 1x ampelon Revelation 14:19
ἀμπέλῳ 1x ampelō John 15:4
Parsing patterns
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 4x Matthew 26:29, Mark 14:25, Luke 22:18, Revelation 14:18
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular 3x John 15:1, John 15:5, James 3:12
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 1x Revelation 14:19
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular 1x John 15:4
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Let John 15 define fruitful dependence on Christ rather than turning vine language into self-improvement.
- Remember that vine imagery can also carry kingdom hope and judgment, depending on the passage.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that ampelos always means the church or Israel without context.
- Do not use the true-vine image to detach fruitfulness from remaining in Christ.
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
CovenantMessiah
Greek word. A vine characterized by its coiling growth around supports, used figuratively for Christ and judgment in John and Revelation.
Source Gloss
a vine (as coiling about a support)
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
A vine characterized by its coiling growth around supports, used figuratively for Christ and judgment in John and Revelation.
vine: Mat.26:29, Mrk.14:25, Luk.22:18 Jas.3:12; figuratively, of Christ, Jhn.15:1, 4-5; of his enemies (on the usage here, see MM, VGT, see word): Rev.14:18-19.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
9 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 26:29 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
ἀμπέλου, ampelou
a vine
Read verse Mark 14:25 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
ἀμπέλου, ampelou
a vine
Read verse Luke 22:18 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
ἀμπέλου, ampelou
a vine
Read verse ampelov
a vine
Read verse John 15:4 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
ἀμπέλῳ, ampelw
a vine
Read verse John 15:5 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
ἄμπελος, ampelov
a vine
Read verse James 3:12 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
ἄμπελος ampelov
a vine
Read verse Revelation 14:18 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
ἀμπέλου ampelou
a vine
Read verse Revelation 14:19 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἄμπελον ampelon
a vine
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 4 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 4 Aligned forms 9 Case pattern Genitive (4) Number pattern Singular (9)
Genitive · Singular · Feminine Matt 26:29 · Mark 14:25 · Luke 22:18 · Rev 14:18 4×
Dative · Singular · Feminine John 15:4 1×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine Rev 14:19 1×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
John 15:1-11 ἄμπελος ámpelos
vine
Showing 1 selected witness from 9 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἄμπελος is built from these roots:
Why This Word Matters
Christ as true covenant Israel.
Canonical Themes
Covenant Messiah
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
Ampelos is powerful because Scripture does not use vine language in only one way. At the table, the fruit of the vine is tied to Jesus' future kingdom promise. In John 15, the vine becomes central to Jesus' self-revelation and to the disciples' life: branches bear fruit only as they remain in Him. In Revelation, vine imagery can turn toward judgment as the earth's grapes are gathered.
This range guards against shallow application. Teachers should not use the word merely for personal growth or church productivity. The vine points first to the passage's claim. In John 15, that claim is dependence on Christ. Apart from Him, the branches can do nothing; in Him, fruitfulness is received, cultivated, and judged by the Father.
Anchor passage
John.15.5
Doctrinal connections
- G2814 Klema: John 15 joins the vine and branches to teach dependence and fruitfulness.
- G3306 Meno: Remaining in Christ is the command that governs the vine image in John 15.
- G2590 Karpos: Fruitfulness is the visible outcome of abiding union with Christ.
- G3962 Pater: The Father is named as the vineyard keeper in John 15.
- G932 Basileia: The Supper sayings connect fruit of the vine with kingdom hope.
- G3709 Orge: Revelation's vine imagery warns that harvest language can signal judgment.
Ampelos is a common vine or grapevine word. Its theological force comes from metaphorical use in context, especially Jesus' true-vine saying, not from the lexical item alone.
From Old to New Testament
The Old Testament often uses vine and vineyard imagery for God's people, fruitfulness, care, and judgment. John 15 should be heard within that background, while still letting Jesus' true-vine claim control the Christian application.
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