942. batos

Lexical Summary

batos: bush, thorn bush, briar bush

Original Word: βάτος
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine; Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: batos
Pronunciation: BA-tos
Phonetic Spelling: (bat'-os)
KJV: bramble, bush
NASB: bush, thorn bush, briar bush
Word Origin: [of uncertain derivation]

1. a brier shrub

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

bramble, bush.

Of uncertain derivation; a brier shrub -- bramble, bush.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
a prim. word
Definition
a bramble bush
NASB Translation
briar bush (1), bush (2), thorn bush (2).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 942: βάτος (1)

βάτος (1), βάτου, ἡ and (in Mark 12:26 G L T Tr WH) ὁ, (the latter according to Moeris, Attic; the former Hellenistic; cf. Fritzsche on Mark, p. 532; Winers Grammar, 63 (62) (cf. 36; Buttmann, 12 (11))) (from Homer down), a thorn or bramble-bush (cf. B. D., under the word ): Luke 6:44; Acts 7:30, 35; ἐπί τοῦ (τῆς) βάτου at the Bush, i. e. where it tells about the Bush, Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37; cf. Fritzsche on Romans 11:2; (B. D., under the word IV. 1).

Topical Lexicon

Definition and Scope of Usage

Strong’s Greek 942 (βάτος) denotes a thorny bush or bramble. In the New Testament it appears five times, four of which recall the famed “burning bush” theophany of Exodus 3, and one of which employs the term metaphorically in a parable about fruitfulness.

Old Testament Background

The Septuagint uses βάτος to translate the Hebrew seneh in Exodus 3:2–4. The bush, ablaze yet unconsumed, becomes the setting for Yahweh’s self-revelation to Moses: “I AM WHO I AM” and “the God of your father—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Exodus 3:14, 3:15). The scene unites three themes that echo throughout Scripture:

1. Divine transcendence and holiness—fire that does not need fuel.
2. Compassionate condescension—God speaks from the lowly shrub, not a cedar of Lebanon.
3. Covenant continuity—He names Himself by the patriarchs, pledging faithfulness to former promises.

New Testament Occurrences

1. Mark 12:26 and Luke 20:37—Jesus cites “the passage about the bush” to prove the resurrection: “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Mark 12:27). The tense of God’s self-identification implies that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob still live unto Him.
2. Acts 7:30, 35—Stephen rehearses the burning bush as part of Israel’s redemptive history. The vision validates Moses’ call and underscores divine initiative in deliverance.
3. Luke 6:44—Contrasting good and bad fruit, Jesus observes, “People do not gather figs from thorns, or grapes from brambles.” The βάτος here symbolizes what is naturally unproductive for wholesome fruit, highlighting the moral impossibility of righteous works springing from an unregenerate heart.

Theological Emphases

1. Revelation and Holiness: God’s glory appears in fire yet preserves the bush, anticipating the Incarnation—divine fullness dwelling in frail flesh without consuming it.
2. Resurrection Hope: Christ’s argument from the bush (Mark 12) anchors eschatological certainty in God’s covenant name, showing that Scripture’s grammar carries doctrinal weight.
3. Mediated Redemption: Both Stephen (Acts 7) and the Exodus narrative stress an angelic mediator in the bush, prefiguring the ultimate Mediator who would lead a greater exodus (Luke 9:31).
4. Ethical Fruitfulness: Luke 6 contrasts bramble with fruit-bearing trees, teaching that true discipleship is evidenced in character, not mere profession.

Christological Implications

Early Christian teachers saw in the unconsumed bush a type of the virgin birth—Mary containing the divine Word without being destroyed. The bush also foreshadows Christ crucified: suffering yet triumphant, aflame with divine judgment yet preserving all who are in Him.

Pastoral and Practical Applications

• Calling and Commission: Like Moses, believers encounter God in humble settings and are sent to serve despite personal inadequacies.
• Worship and Reverence: The command to remove sandals (Exodus 3:5) reminds congregations that corporate worship approaches a holy God who still speaks.
• Hope in Persecution: Stephen’s citation of the bush during his martyrdom assures the Church that God remains present in the fiery trials of His people.
• Discernment of Fruit: Ministers should evaluate doctrine and life by the principle that good trees bear good fruit, guarding the flock from “bramble” teachers whose ministries wound rather than nourish.

Historical Reception in the Church

Patristic writers such as Gregory of Nyssa and Cyril of Alexandria expounded the burning bush as a typology of the Incarnation and the Church. Medieval commentators connected the bramble of Luke 6 with the curse of Genesis 3, from which Christ delivers creation. Reformation expositors emphasized the sufficiency of Scripture, noting how Christ grounds resurrection doctrine on the verb tense of Exodus 3.

Summary

Strong’s Greek 942 gathers into one modest shrub profound truths of revelation, redemption, resurrection, and righteous living. From Sinai’s desert sands to the teaching hills of Galilee and the defense before the Sanhedrin, the “bush” stands as a testimony that the living God speaks, saves, and sanctifies His people.

Forms and Transliterations

βάτος βατου βάτου βατω βάτω βάτῳ bato batō bátoi bátōi batou bátou

Englishman's Concordance

Mark 12:26 N-GMS
GRK: ἐπὶ τοῦ βάτου πῶς εἶπεν
NAS: in the [passage] about [the burning] bush, how
KJV: how in the bush God spake
INT: [in the part] on the bush how spoke

Luke 6:44 N-GMS
GRK: οὐδὲ ἐκ βάτου σταφυλὴν τρυγῶσιν
NAS: do they pick grapes from a briar bush.
KJV: of a bramble bush gather they
INT: nor from a bramble grapes gather they

Luke 20:37 N-GMS
GRK: ἐπὶ τῆς βάτου ὡς λέγει
NAS: showed, in the [passage about the burning] bush, where
KJV: shewed at the bush, when he calleth
INT: on the bush when he called

Acts 7:30 N-GMS
GRK: φλογὶ πυρὸς βάτου
NAS: IN THE FLAME OF A BURNING THORN BUSH.
KJV: a flame of fire in a bush.
INT: a flame of fire of a bush

Acts 7:35 N-DMS
GRK: ἐν τῇ βάτῳ
NAS: who appeared to him in the thorn bush.
KJV: to him in the bush.
INT: in the bush

Strong's Greek 942
5 Occurrences

βάτῳ — 1 Occ.
βάτου — 4 Occ.