Grass

(1.) Heb. hatsir, ripe grass fit for mowing (1 Kings 18:5; Job 40:15; Ps. 104:14). As the herbage rapidly fades under the scorching sun, it is used as an image of the brevity of human life (Isa. 40:6, 7; Ps. 90:5). In Num. 11:5 this word is rendered “leeks.” (2.) Heb. deshe’, green grass (Gen. 1:11, 12; Isa. 66:14; Deut. 32:2). “The sickly and forced blades of grass which spring up on the flat plastered roofs of houses in the East are used as an emblem of speedy destruction, because they are small and weak, and because, under the scorching rays of the sun, they soon wither away” (2 Kings 19:26; Ps. 129:6; Isa. 37:27). The dry stalks of grass were often used as fuel for the oven (Matt. 6:30; 13:30; Luke 12:28).

GRASS. Isa 51:12. This word is frequently applied in the Scriptures to herbage generally, Isa 15:6, though sometimes distinction is made between such herbs as are used by man as grain and vegetables, and such as are used chiefly by cattle. Ps 104:14. The quick growth and tenderness of this species of vegetation furnish several of the most striking illustrations of the Scriptures. Ps 90:5-6; Ps 92:7; Ps 103:15-16; Isa 40:6-8; Jer 51:12; Jas 1:10; 1 Pet 1:24. The passage in Prov 27:25 would be more accurately rendered thus: "The grass (hay) appeareth, and the green herb (tender grass) showeth itself, and the plants (herbs) of the mountains are gathered." So in Isa 15:6: "The grass (hay) withereth, the green herb (grass) faileth, there is no green thing." Nothing can exceed in beauty and appropriateness the gradation of images employed by the prophet, 2 Kgs 19:26; the weakness and tenderness of the first shoots of any green herb; the frailty of the few spires of grass that sometimes spring up in the vegetable mould or shallow earth upon the housetop, or the withered blade of corn (grain) blasted before it rises into a stalk. Coarse herbage was often dried, as it is still, for the purpose of heating ovens. Under the fierce rays of a Syrian sun, joined to parching winds, it often happens that "the grass of the field which to-day is, . . . to-morrow is cast into the oven." Matt 6:30; Matt 13:30; Luke 12:28.

GRASS. Isa 51:12. This word is frequently applied in the Scriptures to herbage generally, Isa 15:6, though sometimes distinction is made between such herbs as are used by man as grain and vegetables, and such as are used chiefly by cattle. Ps 104:14. The quick growth and tenderness of this species of vegetation furnish several of the most striking illustrations of the Scriptures. Ps 90:5-6; Ps 92:7; Ps 103:15-16; Isa 40:6-8; Jer 51:12; Jas 1:10; 1 Pet 1:24. The passage in Prov 27:25 would be more accurately rendered thus: "The grass (hay) appeareth, and the green herb (tender grass) showeth itself, and the plants (herbs) of the mountains are gathered." So in Isa 15:6: "The grass (hay) withereth, the green herb (grass) faileth, there is no green thing." Nothing can exceed in beauty and appropriateness the gradation of images employed by the prophet, 2 Kgs 19:26; the weakness and tenderness of the first shoots of any green herb; the frailty of the few spires of grass that sometimes spring up in the vegetable mould or shallow earth upon the housetop, or the withered blade of corn (grain) blasted before it rises into a stalk. Coarse herbage was often dried, as it is still, for the purpose of heating ovens. Under the fierce rays of a Syrian sun, joined to parching winds, it often happens that "the grass of the field which to-day is, . . . to-morrow is cast into the oven." Matt 6:30; Matt 13:30; Luke 12:28.

Part of speech: noun (n.)

1. Popularly: Herbage; the plants which constitute the food of cattle and other beasts; pasture.

2. An endogenous plant having simple leaves, a stem generally jointed and tubular, the husks or glumes in pairs, and the seed single.

3. The season of fresh grass; spring. [Colloq.] Two years old next grass. Lathsm.

4. Metaphorically used for what is transitory. Surely the people is grass. Is. xl. 7.

5. Pasture and hay. Poa serotina. (b) Hay, on moist land. Gryceria nervata. Gama grass, cut fodder. South. Tripsacum dactyloides. Grama grass, grazing. West and Pacific slope. Bouteloua oligostachya, etc. Great bunch grass, pasture and hay. Far West. Festuca scabrella. Guinea grass, hay. South. Panicum jumentorum. Herd's grass, in New England Timothy, in Pennsylvania and South Redtop. Indian grass. Same as Wood grass (below). Italian rye grass, forage and hay. Lolium Italicum. Johnson grass, grazing aud hay. South and Southwest. Sorghum Halepense. Kentucky blue grass, pasture. Poa pratensis. Lyme grass, coarse hay. South. Elymus, several species. Manna grass, pasture and hay. Glyceria, several species. Meadow fescue, pasture and hay. Festuca elatior. Meadow foxtail, pasture, hay, lawn. North. Alopecurus pratensis. Meadow grass, pasture, hay, lawn. Poa, several species. Mesquite, or Muskit grass. Same as Grama grass (above). Nimble Will, a kind of drop seed. Muhlenbergia diffsa. Orchard grass, pasture and hay. Dactylis glomerata. Porcupine grass, troublesome to sheep. Northwest. Stipa spartea. Quaking grass, ornamental. Briza media and maxima. Quitch, or Quick, grass, etc., a weed. Agropyrum repens. Ray grass. Same as Rye grass (below). Redtop, pasture and hay. Agrostis vulgaris. Red-topped buffalo grass, forage. Northwest. Poa tenuifolia. Reed canary grass, of slight value. Phalaris arundinacea. Reed meadow grass, hay. North. Glyceria aquatica. Ribbon grass, a striped leaved form of Reed canary grass. Rye grass, pasture, hay. Lolium perenne, var. Seneca grass, fragrant basket work, etc. North. Hierochloa borealis. Sesame grass. Same as Gama grass (above). Sheep's fescue, sheep pasture, native in Northern Europe and Asia. Festuca ovina. Small reed grass, meadow pasture and hay. North. Deyeuxia Canadensis. Spear grass, Same as Meadow grass (above). Squirrel-tail grass, troublesome to animals. Seacoast and Northwest. Hordeum jubatum. Switch grass, hay, cut young. Panicum virgatum. Timothy, cut young, the best of hay. North. Phleum pratense. Velvet grass, hay on poor soil. South. Holcus lanatus. Vernal grass, pasture, hay, lawn. Anthoxanthum odoratum. Wire grass, valuable in pastures. Poa compressa. Wood grass, Indian grass, hay. Chrysopogon nutans.

Part of speech: verb (v.)

1. To cover with grass or with turf.

2. To expose, as flax, on the grass for bleaching, etc.

3. To bring to the grass or ground; to land; as, to grass a fish. [Colloq.]

Part of speech: verb (v.)

To produce grass. [R.] Tusser.