{
  "id": "dict_002253",
  "term": "Gourd",
  "slug": "gourd",
  "letter": "G",
  "entry_type": "biblical_plant",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "The plant God appointed to grow over Jonah for shade and then caused to wither, serving the theological point of Jonah 4.",
  "simple_one_line": "A fast-growing plant in Jonah 4 that briefly shaded Jonah before God caused it to die.",
  "tooltip_text": "In Jonah 4, the gourd is part of the Lord’s object lesson about Jonah’s pity and God’s compassion.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Jonah",
    "Nineveh",
    "worm",
    "mercy",
    "repentance"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Jonah 4",
    "plant",
    "shade",
    "compassion"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "The gourd in Jonah is the plant God appointed to shade Jonah briefly and then caused to wither, turning a small natural detail into a lesson about mercy, perspective, and God’s concern for Nineveh.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "A plant in Jonah 4 that grew quickly, shaded Jonah, and then withered by God’s appointment.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Appears in Jonah 4:6-11.",
    "The exact species is uncertain.",
    "Its purpose is narrative and theological, not botanical detail.",
    "It highlights Jonah’s misplaced concern and God’s compassion."
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "In Jonah 4, God caused a plant commonly rendered “gourd” to grow over Jonah and provide shade, then appointed a worm so that it withered. The Hebrew term is difficult to identify with certainty, and English translations vary. The plant’s importance is not botanical but literary and theological: it forms part of the Lord’s rebuke to Jonah and underscores the contrast between Jonah’s concern for comfort and God’s compassion for Nineveh.",
  "description_academic_full": "“Gourd” refers to the plant in Jonah 4 that God appointed to grow quickly and provide shade for Jonah, and then appointed to wither. The Hebrew word is difficult to identify with certainty, so translators differ in how they render it, and interpreters should avoid dogmatism about the exact species. In the biblical narrative, the plant’s significance lies in its function: it exposes Jonah’s self-interest, magnifies the temporary nature of created comforts, and sets up the Lord’s rebuke concerning Jonah’s pity for a plant versus God’s compassion for the people of Nineveh. The entry belongs primarily to biblical narrative and object imagery rather than to doctrinal taxonomy.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Jonah receives the plant after his anger over Nineveh’s repentance. The Lord then appoints a worm and a scorching east wind, using the plant’s rise and fall to confront Jonah’s heart and to teach him about divine mercy.",
  "background_historical_context": "Ancient readers would have understood the episode as a vivid prophetic object lesson. The text does not require certainty about the plant’s species for the narrative to work; its rapid growth and sudden collapse are the point.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "Jewish readers of the Hebrew Bible would have recognized Jonah 4 as a prophetic rebuke centered on God’s sovereign freedom and compassion. The plant serves as a small created sign within a larger moral and covenantal lesson.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Jonah 4:6-11"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Jonah 1:17",
    "Jonah 3:10"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "The Hebrew term is commonly transliterated qiqayon, but its exact botanical identification is uncertain. English versions variously render it as “gourd,” “plant,” or a similar shading plant.",
  "theological_significance": "The gourd highlights God’s sovereignty over creation, the fragility of earthly comfort, and the moral contrast between human pity for transient benefits and God’s compassion for persons made in his image.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "The episode illustrates how a small, ordinary object can become a vehicle for moral truth. Temporary gifts can be real and good, yet they are not ultimate goods and must not eclipse concern for what God values most.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not overstate the botanical identification of the plant. The passage is not teaching horticulture, nor should the plant be turned into an elaborate allegory beyond the text’s own emphasis.",
  "major_views_note": "Most interpreters agree that the exact species cannot be fixed with certainty and that the plant’s function in the narrative matters more than its identification.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "This is a biblical narrative object, not a doctrinal category. Its theological use should remain tethered to Jonah 4 and not be detached into speculative symbolism.",
  "practical_significance": "The gourd warns readers against valuing personal comfort more than God’s mercy toward others and reminds believers that temporary blessings should never displace compassion, gratitude, or obedience.",
  "meta_description": "The gourd in Jonah 4 was the plant God appointed to shade Jonah briefly before it withered, becoming part of the Lord’s lesson about mercy and compassion.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/gourd/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/gourd.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}