κόκκος G2848
A grain or seed; the small kernel of a plant, used literally of mustard and wheat and figuratively of faith's tiny beginnings.
In every NT occurrence, kokkos refers to a small seed or grain, most memorably the mustard seed in Jesus' parables of the kingdom (Matt 13:31, Mark 4:31, Luke 13:19). The image turns on the contrast between the seed's insignificance and the enormous plant it produces. Jesus extends the metaphor to faith itself: faith the size of a grain of mustard seed can uproot a tree (Luke 17:6) or move a mountain (Matt 17:20). Spanish 'grano' and German 'Korn' both capture the concrete, earthy quality of this word, which grounds some of the most beloved sayings in the Gospels.
Senses
1. a seed — A small seed or kernel of a plant, the basic reproductive unit. All seven NT uses employ kokkos as the vehicle for agricultural parables and sayings about faith. In Matt 13:31 and Mark 4:31 it is a mustard seed illustrating the kingdom's growth from humble beginnings; in Matt 17:20 and Luke 17:6 it measures the astonishingly small quantity of genuine faith that can accomplish the impossible. The multilingual glosses (Spanish 'grano,' French 'grain,' German 'Korn') uniformly point to the concrete, tangible seed rather than any metaphorical extension. 7×
AR["بِحَبَّةِ", "حَبَّةً", "حَبَّةُ", "حَبَّةِ", "لِحَبَّةِ"]·ben["দানা", "দানা,", "দানায়", "দানার", "দানার-মতো", "বীজ"]·DE["Korn", "κόκκον", "κόκκῳ"]·EN["a-seed", "grain", "seed", "to-a-grain", "to-a-seed"]·FR["grain"]·heb["גַּרְגִּיר", "גַּרְעִין", "גַרְעִין", "לְ-גַרְעִין", "לְגַרְגִּיר"]·HI["दअने-के", "दन", "दाना", "दाने"]·ID["biji", "biji,", "dengan-biji"]·IT["granello"]·jav["wiji"]·KO["겨자-씨에", "날알이니", "씨", "씨에", "알갱이"]·PT["a-grão", "a-um-grão", "grão", "grão,", "um-grão"]·RU["зерно", "зерну"]·ES["a-grano", "grano"]·SW["kama-punje", "na-punje", "punje"]·TR["eğer-", "tane", "tanesi", "tanesine", "tohumuna"]·urd["دانہ", "دانے", "دانے-سے", "دانے-کو"]
Related Senses
H3754 1. vineyard, cultivated grape plot (92×)H0730 1. cedar tree or wood (73×)H1612 1. vine, grapevine (55×)H3293a 1. forest, wood, thicket (55×)H5560 1. fine flour (53×)H5193 1. plant vegetation (48×)H2232 1. sow seed, plant crops (41×)H1715 1. grain, cereal crop (40×)H7114b 1. reap, harvest grain (36×)H2132 1. olive tree (34×)H8184 1. barley (34×)H2406 1. wheat (grain crop) (30×)H7070 1. reed, cane (plant) (30×)H7848 1. acacia (28×)H8328 1. root of a plant (28×)H8384 1. fig tree (25×)H5488 1. reeds, rushes (in 'Sea of Reeds') (24×)G0290 1. a vineyard (23×)G2325 1. reap, harvest a crop (21×)G4687 1. sow seed, plant (21×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
κόκκος, ὁ, grain, seed, as of the pomegranate, Refs 5th c.BC+; κ. Βαβυλώνιος Refs 2nd c.AD+; of the poppy, Refs 3rd c.BC+; of the pine, Refs; of wheat, Refs 3rd c.AD+; of weeds in corn, Refs 6th c.AD+; compare Κνίδιος: metaphorically, νόου δέ μοι οὐκ ἔνι κ. not a grain of sense, Refs __2 a measure, Refs 1st c.AD+ __II 'berry' (gall) of kermes oak, used to dye scarlet, Refs 4th c.BC+: hence,…