Lexical Summary boser: Unripe fruit, sour grapes Original Word: בֹּסֶר Strong's Exhaustive Concordance sour grape From the same as becer -- sour grape. see HEBREW becer NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom an unused word Definition unripe or sour grapes NASB Translation grape (1), sour grapes (3), unripe grape (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs בֹּ֫סֶר noun masculineIsaiah 18:5 unripe or sour grapes collective (Late Hebrew id., Aramaic בּוּסְרָא,  (PS; syllable  uncertain [Nes, privately]; Polyglotts and Castell have  ); Arabic  unripe dates) — בֹּסֶר Isaiah 18:5 3t. בִּסְרוֺ Job 15:33; — unripe grapes Isaiah 18:5; Job 15:33; sour g. Jeremiah 31:29,30; Ezekiel 18:2. בעד (Arabic Topical Lexicon Meaning and Figurative ImageryBōser denotes the cluster of grapes that has not yet ripened and therefore tastes sharp or sour. In Scripture the image communicates immaturity, incompleteness, and the unpleasant consequences that arise when something is partaken of before its appointed time. The sourness of the unripe fruit mirrors the bitterness of sin’s outcome and the discord between expectation and reality when people act outside of God’s will. Occurrences in the Old Testament 1. Isaiah 18:5 places the term in an agrarian parable of judgment: “For before the harvest, when the blossom is gone and the flower becomes a ripening grape, He will cut off the shoots with pruning shears and remove the spreading branches”. The unripe cluster is cut down, picturing premature removal of boasting nations before they reach full strength. Historical and Cultural Backdrop Viticulture was central in ancient Israel’s economy and daily life. Harvest calendars were well known, and farmers would have recognized the precise stage described by bōser. Unripe grapes, if eaten, contract the mouth and stomach; thus the term became a ready symbol for self-inflicted discomfort. Prophets could draw on this shared experience to communicate divine truths with immediate force. Theological Themes • Personal Responsibility: Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel leverage the sour-grape proverb to teach that every soul is directly answerable to the LORD. The teaching anticipates the New Testament’s emphasis on individual faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 14:12). Prophetic and Redemptive Significance By repudiating the notion that children suffer irrevocably for their parents’ guilt, the prophets prepare for the gospel revelation that “each will die for his own iniquity” yet also for the new covenant in which “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34). The unripe grape becomes a stepping-stone to proclaim grace: where immature fruit once stung, mature wine will gladden (cf. John 2:9-10). Ministry and Discipleship Applications • Guarding against Premature Actions: Leaders should wait for God’s appointed season rather than forcing outcomes that leave a sour legacy. Key Cross-References Isaiah 18:5; Jeremiah 31:29-34; Ezekiel 18:2-4, 19-23; Romans 14:12; Galatians 5:22-23; John 2:9-10. Summary Bōser serves as a concise and compelling image of immaturity, untimely action, and the bitter fallout of sin, while simultaneously pointing toward the greater hope of individual redemption and the joyful harvest God intends for His people. Forms and Transliterations בֹ֑סֶר בֹ֔סֶר בסר הַבֹּ֖סֶר הבסר וּבֹ֥סֶר ובסר ḇō·ser ḇōser hab·bō·ser habBoser habbōser ū·ḇō·ser ūḇōser uVoser VoserLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Isaiah 18:5 HEB: כְּתָם־ פֶּ֔רַח וּבֹ֥סֶר גֹּמֵ֖ל יִֽהְיֶ֣ה NAS: a ripening grape, Then He will cut off KJV: is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening INT: blossoms as the bud grape A ripening becomes Jeremiah 31:29 Jeremiah 31:30 Ezekiel 18:2 4 Occurrences |
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, 
be remote, distant, Qor 9:42, 
distant; Ethiopic 
to change, 
different, distinct, 
another).