GREEK · G4615
σίναπι
sinapi — mustard
σίναπι, -εως, τό (prob. Egyptian), = Attic τὸ νᾶπυ mustard: Mat.13:31 17:20, Mrk.4:31, Luk.13:19 17:6.† (AS)
5 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →BIBLE DICTIONARY + WORD STUDY
Mustard
Original Hebrew / Aramaic / Greek connected to this term
How to read this: there is rarely one magic “true meaning” hidden behind an English word. A lexicon records a word’s semantic range. The intended meaning is narrowed by grammar, sentence, author, historical usage and context.
Historical dictionary entry
A plant of the genus sinapis, a pod-bearing, shrub-like plant, growing wild, and also cultivated in gardens. The little round seeds were an emblem of any small insignificant object. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament; and in each of the three instances of its occurrence in the New Testament (Matt. 13:31, 32; Mark 4:31, 32; Luke 13:18, 19) it is spoken of only with reference to the smallness of its seed. The common mustard of Palestine is the Sinapis nigra. This garden herb sometimes grows to a considerable height, so as to be spoken of as “a tree” as compared with garden herbs.
Scripture references
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.