σῖτος G4621
Wheat or grain; the primary cereal crop of the ancient Near East, used literally and figuratively
The standard Greek term for cultivated grain, most often wheat specifically. It appears in some of Jesus' most memorable agricultural parables — the wheat and the tares (Matt 13:25-30), the grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies (John 12:24). When used more broadly, it denotes cereal provisions or food supply, as when Jacob sent his sons to Egypt for grain (Acts 7:12). Spanish distinguishes 'trigo' (wheat) from 'grano' (generic grain), and Hindi uses the general 'अनाज' for the provision sense, hinting at the broader semantic range.
Senses
1. wheat — Wheat specifically — the cultivated grain Triticum, whether standing in the field, being harvested, or stored. Translations overwhelmingly use wheat-specific terms: Spanish 'trigo,' French 'blé,' German 'Weizen.' Central to Jesus' parables: the wheat and tares (Matt 13:25-30) where wheat represents the righteous, and the grain of wheat that must die to bear fruit (John 12:24). Also appears in commercial contexts like the dishonest steward's hundred measures of wheat (Luke 16:7). 13×
AR["القَمْحَ", "قَمحٍ", "قَمحَ", "قَمحِ", "قَمْحًا", "قَمْحٍ", "قَمْحَ", "قَمْحَهُ", "قَمْحِ"]·ben["গম", "গমকে", "গমের", "গমের,"]·DE["Weizen"]·EN["grain", "of-wheat", "wheat"]·FR["blé"]·heb["הַ-חִטָּה", "הַחִטָּה", "חִטִּים", "חִטָּה", "שֶׁל-חִטִּים"]·HI["अन्न", "गेहूँ", "गेहूँ-का", "गेहूँ-को", "गेहूँको", "गेहूं", "गेहूं-के।", "गेहोओन", "गेहोओन-के", "गेहोओन-को"]·ID["gandum", "gandum,", "itu"]·IT["grano", "siton", "sitou"]·jav["-ing-gandum", "gandomipun", "gandum", "gandum,", "gandum.", "gandum;", "pari"]·KO["공식을", "밀-을", "밀-의", "밀-이", "밀과", "밀은", "밀을", "밀의"]·PT["de-trigo", "de-trigo,", "trigo"]·RU["зерно", "пшеницу", "пшеницы", "пшеничное"]·ES["de-trigo", "grano", "trigo"]·SW["-ya-ngano", "cha-ngano", "ngano", "ngano,", "ya-ngano", "za-ngano"]·TR["buğday", "buğdayı", "buğdayın", "buğdayını"]·urd["گندم", "گیہوں", "گیہوں-کا", "گیہوں-کو", "گیہوں-کے"]
Matt 3:12, Matt 13:25, Matt 13:29, Matt 13:30, Mark 4:28, Luke 3:17, Luke 16:7, Luke 22:31, John 12:24, Acts 27:38, 1 Cor 15:37, Rev 6:6 (+1 more)
2. grain, food supply — Grain or cereal in a broader, more generic sense — food provisions or stored supplies rather than wheat as a specific crop. In Luke 12:18, the rich fool plans to store his 'grain' (his entire harvest), and in Acts 7:12, Jacob hears there is 'grain' in Egypt. Hindi 'अनाज' (generic grain/cereal) and the contextual emphasis on provisioning rather than cultivation distinguish this from the wheat-specific cluster. 2×
AR["طَعَامٌ", "قَمْحِي"]·ben["শস্য"]·DE["Weizen"]·EN["grain"]·FR["blé"]·heb["דָּגָן", "שֶׁבֶר"]·HI["अनाज", "गेहूँ"]·ID["gandum"]·IT["grano"]·jav["gandum"]·KO["곡식-이", "곡식과"]·PT["cereais"]·RU["зерно", "пшеницу"]·ES["trigo"]·SW["nafaka"]·TR["buğdayımı", "tahılın"]·urd["اناج", "غلہ"]
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
σῖτος, ὁ, irregular plural σῖτα, τά, Refs 6th c.BC+:— grain, comprehending both wheat (πυρός) and barley (κριθή), ἐν [Ἰθάκῃ] σ. ἀθέσφατος ἐν δέ τε οἶνος γίγνεται Refs 8th c.BC+; περὶ σίτου ἐκβολήν about the shooting of the corn into ear, Refs 5th c.BC+; τοῦ σ. ἀκμάζοντος at its ripening, Refs 5th c.BC+; σ. ἀληλεσμένος or -εμένος ground corn, Refs 5th c.BC+; σίτου εἰσαγωγή, ἐξαγωγή, Refs 5th…