πρασιά
prasiá
G4237 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A garden bed or plot; specifically, a regularly arranged plot or row, often of cultivated plants. In Greco-Roman usage, πρασιά refers to a vegetable bed or an orderly section within a garden. In certain contexts, it can also denote an organized grouping resembling a row or set, especially when applied metaphorically to people seated or arranged in distinct groups, as in the New Testament narrative of the feeding of the multitude (Mark 6:40).
Semantic Range
vegetable bed, garden plot, row of plants, orderly arrangement or grouping, specifically rows (of people) resembling garden beds
Root / Etymology
From πρασον (prason, 'leek'), with the suffix -ία, denoting relationship, place, or grouping by kind. The formation indicates a reference to areas or rows where leeks or similar vegetables are grown. See also practical relationships with other plant-based words in Greek. Exact morphological derivation: πρασ- (leek) + -ία (denoting plot or bed).
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical Greek, πρασιά is primarily attested as a garden bed, particularly a vegetable, herb, or onion/leek patch. This usage continues into Hellenistic and later Greek, where the word designates an area set aside for growing specific plants in a regular, orderly way. In the LXX and New Testament, the term is rare and holds a somewhat expanded, semi-metaphorical meaning; Mark 6:40 uses πρασιά to describe groups or 'rows' in which people sit on the grass, drawing on the visual analogy of garden beds or patches. The plural, πρασιαι, is used in a Hebraistic fashion to express the idea of organized, parallel groupings, not just plants but people. English translations often render the term in this context as 'companies', 'groups' or 'rows', but this can obscure the agricultural (and visual) metaphor of the original. Related terms (e.g., χωρίον, 'plot of ground') are more general and lack the horticultural specificity of πρασιά.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
perhaps from (a leek, and so an onion-patch); a garden plot, i.e. (by implication, of regular beds) a row (repeated in plural by Hebraism, to indicate an arrangement):--in ranks.
Root Family
πρασ- (prasiá) — to grow leeks, to plant, to arrange in beds
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G4237-01 |
πρασιαὶ | prasiai | N NOM F PL |
in groups | garden beds | groups | 2 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 occurrences