בֹּסֶר
Definition
The Hebrew noun בֹּסֶר (bôçer) refers specifically to an unripe, sour grape. It describes grapes that are still hard and immature, having not yet reached the sweet, harvestable stage. This word is used literally in Isaiah 18:5 to describe the pruning of a vine before the harvest, where the 'sour grapes' are cut off to allow the good fruit to develop. Its primary theological use, however, is metaphorical, appearing in the well-known proverb quoted in Jeremiah 31:29-30 and Ezekiel 18:2, where 'sour grapes' symbolize the bitter consequences of sin that are unjustly borne by a subsequent generation.
Biblical Usage
בֹּסֶר is used four times in the Old Testament. Its single literal use is in a prophetic agricultural metaphor in Isaiah 18:5. Its other three occurrences are in the identical proverb found in Jeremiah 31:29, 30 and Ezekiel 18:2: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.' This proverb is used to express a fatalistic view of generational punishment, which the prophets directly challenge to affirm individual responsibility before God.
Etymology
בֹּסֶר (bôçer) is derived from the root ב-ס-ר (b-s-r), which relates to being unripe or immature. It is a cognate noun from the same source as the verb בָּסַר (bāṣar, H1154), meaning 'to be unripe' or 'to gather unripe grapes.' The word's meaning is straightforward, focusing on the state of the fruit before maturity.
Semantic Range
This word is theologically significant as the central image in a major prophetic teaching on justice. The proverb of the 'sour grapes' (Jeremiah 31:29-30, Ezekiel 18:2) represented a common misunderstanding that children were automatically punished for their parents' sins. The prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel used this saying to introduce God's corrective revelation, emphasizing personal accountability and breaking cycles of fatalism. Understanding בֹּסֶר enriches reading by highlighting how God's justice is individual and restorative, not blindly generational.
In ancient Israelite viticulture, sour, unripe grapes (בֹּסֶר) were a known and undesirable part of the vineyard cycle. They were inedible and had to be removed to protect the developing crop. This made them a perfect, culturally understood metaphor for a bitter, undesirable consequence. The proverb's imagery would have been immediately visceral to an agrarian society, making the theological point about unjust suffering more impactful.
עֵנָב (ʿēnāḇ, H6025) — The general word for a ripe, sweet grape or cluster, the positive counterpart to בֹּסֶר.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
Full methodology & sources →