Lexical Summary anthos: Flower, blossom Original Word: ἄνθος Strong's Exhaustive Concordance flower. A primary word; a blossom -- flower. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. word Definition a flower NASB Translation flower (3), flowering (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 438: ἄνθοςἄνθος, ἀνθεος, τό (from Homer down); a flower: James 1:10; 1 Peter 1:24. Topical Lexicon Creation imagery and daily landscapeThe wildflowers that carpet the hills of Judea and Asia Minor each spring blaze with color for only a short season. Shepherds and travelers watch them emerge after the rains, only to see them scorched within days by the sharav wind. The writers of Scripture seize upon that brief flush of beauty to illustrate the fragile glory of human life. The noun ἄνθος occurs four times in the Greek New Testament and every instance harnesses this natural scene to teach spiritual reality. Human mortality and the transience of wealth (James 1:10-11) James turns the flower into a sobering parable for the wealthy believer. “The rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business” (James 1:11). The point is not the immorality of possessing resources but the folly of basing identity on them. Like a field bloom that dazzles at dawn and is gone by dusk, fortune has no permanence. James therefore urges the prosperous to “exult in his low position” (James 1:10), gladly embracing the leveling effect of the gospel and finding security in Christ rather than in accounts or assets. All flesh is grass: Isaiah echoed in 1 Peter 1:24 Peter quotes Isaiah 40:6-8 word-for-word from the Septuagint: “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of the field; the grass withers and the flower falls” (1 Peter 1:24). He then contrasts that decay with the enduring nature of “the word of the Lord” that “stands forever.” The apostle thus anchors the fragility of earthly glory to the indestructibility of divine revelation, establishing Scripture’s permanence as the foundation for the believer’s new birth (1 Peter 1:23-25). Intertextual thread: from exile comfort to apostolic exhortation Isaiah employed the meadow metaphor to comfort exiles facing empire and exile by reminding them that human powers wilt before the breath of God. Peter, writing to scattered saints in Asia Minor, leans on the same promise: earthly hostility will not outlast the gospel. In both settings the flower signals the decline of all merely human grandeur when set against covenant faithfulness. Ethical and pastoral implications 1. Humility: Awareness of personal impermanence curbs pride, especially among the affluent (James 1:10-11). Homiletical use across church history Patristic writers (e.g., Chrysostom on 1 Peter) used the flower image to call emperors and commoners alike to repentance. Reformers cited it to challenge ecclesiastical pomp. Modern funeral liturgies often weave Isaiah’s language into readings, reminding congregations of death’s certainty and resurrection hope. Devotional reflection Meditating on ἄνθος invites believers to praise the Creator for transient beauty while fixing hope on the everlasting. Every fading blossom becomes a living sermon: what dazzles today is gone tomorrow, but the promises of God in Jesus Christ do not lose their color. Summary In the New Testament, ἄνθος never stands alone as a mere botanical term. It consistently serves as a vivid emblem of impermanence—of riches, flesh, and worldly glory—set against the unchanging, life-giving word of God. Forms and Transliterations ανθ' άνθεσιν άνθη ανθος άνθος ἄνθος άνθους anthos ánthosLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance James 1:10 N-NNSGRK: ὅτι ὡς ἄνθος χόρτου παρελεύσεται NAS: like flowering grass KJV: as the flower of the grass INT: because as a flower of the grass he will pass away James 1:11 N-NNS 1 Peter 1:24 N-NNS 1 Peter 1:24 N-NNS |
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