Original Word: בָּצִיר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: batsiyr
Pronunciation: baw-tseer'
Phonetic Spelling: (baw-tseer')
KJV: vintage
NASB: grape gathering, grape harvest, vintage, grape
Word Origin: [from H1219 (בָּצַר - fortified)]

1. clipped
2. the grape crop

vintage

From batsar; clipped, i.e. The grape crop -- vintage.

see HEBREW batsar

Word Origin
from batsar
Definition
a vintage
NASB Translation
grape (1), grape gathering (2), grape harvest (2), vintage (2).

בָּצִיר noun masculine^{Leviticus 26:5} vintage (compare בָּצַר) — בְּצִיר Leviticus 26:5 4t. + Zechariah 11:2 Qr (but read בצור Kt); construct בְּצִיר Judges 8:2; suffix בְּצִירֵךְ Jeremiah 48:32; — vintage, literal Leviticus 26:5 (twice in verse); Judges 8:2; Isaiah 32:10; Jeremiah 48:32; in simile Isaiah 24:13; Micah 7:1; Zechariah 11:2 read בצור (Kt) and compare below בָּצַר.

Concept and Imagery

Strong’s term בָּצִיר highlights the time of “vintage” or “grape harvest,” the season when clusters are cut, winepresses fill, and covenantal themes of plenty or paucity are made visible. Because grapes ripen late in the agricultural cycle, בָּצִיר became a climatic marker in Israel’s agrarian calendar and a ready metaphor for both divine favor and impending judgment.

Agricultural Significance in Ancient Israel

1. Seasonal Rhythm: Vintage follows the threshing of grain (cf. Leviticus 26:5), linking bread and wine—the twin staples of daily life and temple worship.
2. Community Labor: Families, servants, and sojourners worked side-by-side. The scene fostered fellowship and reinforced social laws protecting the poor (compare Deuteronomy 24:21, which, though using a different Hebrew term, undergirds the same practice of leaving gleanings).
3. Economic Indicator: A successful בָּצִיר signaled national stability. Conversely, crop failure meant famine, military vulnerability, and spiritual crisis.

Occurrences and Literary Function

• Leviticus 26:5 places בָּצִיר within the covenant blessings: “You will eat your bread until you are satisfied and live securely in your land.” Vintage here epitomizes uninterrupted abundance.
• Judges 8:2 contrasts Ephraim’s “gleaning of the grapes” with Abiezer’s “vintage,” showing that God can confer greater honor through what appears lesser.
• Isaiah 24:13 and Micah 7:1 use the word to describe meager gleanings, foreshadowing exile and moral decay.
• Isaiah 32:10 warns complacent women that “the vintage will fail,” linking social indifference to agricultural collapse.
• Jeremiah 48:32 laments Moab’s ruined harvest, proving that divine judgment transcends Israel’s borders.

Blessing and Judgment Motif

Throughout Scripture, vintage imagery oscillates between feasting and famine:

– Blessing: Full vats testify that “the LORD your God is giving you a good land” (Deuteronomy 8:7-10).

– Judgment: An empty press symbolizes withered worship and breached covenant (Isaiah 24:11-13).

The duality intensifies Israel’s accountability: fruitfulness is not merely agronomic but moral.

Prophetic and Eschatological Resonance

Prophets project בָּצִיר into the “day of the LORD.” Isaiah 63:3 (using a related term) depicts the Warrior-Redeemer treading the winepress alone, prefiguring Revelation 19:15 where Messiah “tramples the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God.” Vintage thus becomes an eschatological lens through which final judgment and redemption are viewed.

New Testament Echoes

Though בָּצִיר itself does not appear in the Greek text, its theological weight carries into the parables of the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) and the Last Supper’s cup (Luke 22:18). Jesus positions Himself as both Lord of the harvest and true vine (John 15:1), fulfilling the symbolism of seasoned grapes pressed into covenantal wine.

Lessons for Life and Ministry

1. Stewardship: Believers are called to diligence “in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2), knowing that faithful sowing leads to vintage in due time.
2. Social Justice: Leaving gleanings challenges churches to tangible generosity toward the marginalized.
3. Watchfulness: Isaiah’s warning to complacent women remains timely; worldly ease can dull spiritual vigilance.
4. Gospel Invitation: Just as vintage gathers the ripe clusters, evangelism gathers souls before the coming press of judgment (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Summary

בָּצִיר threads through Scripture as a living parable of God’s providence and prerogative. It affirms that the same Lord who fills the vats can empty them, who blesses obedience can chasten rebellion, and who once trod the winepress alone will one day present His redeemed people as a vintage kept for eternal celebration.

בְּצִירֵ֖ךְ בָּצִ֑יר בָּצִ֔יר בָצִ֔יר בָצִֽיר׃ בציר בציר׃ בצירך וּבָצִ֖יר ובציר מִבְצִ֥יר מבציר bā·ṣîr ḇā·ṣîr bāṣîr ḇāṣîr baTzir bə·ṣî·rêḵ bəṣîrêḵ betziRech miḇ·ṣîr miḇṣîr mivTzir ū·ḇā·ṣîr ūḇāṣîr uvaTzir vaTzirInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts