Biblical Types, Symbols & Patterns
Hay
Claim-level biblical evidence review with contextual controls, canonical relationships, and preserved interpretive history.
How to read this entry
Evidence grades apply to individual claims, not to the headword as a whole. Strong biblical identification is kept separate from plausible or traditional interpretations, and unsupported proposals remain visible as negative evidence rather than being silently removed.
Lexical and literal hay/grass
Greek chortos covers grass, herbage, fodder, and in 1 Corinthians 3:12 can be rendered hay; the English headword is translation-sensitive.
Context control: The lexical item is ordinary vegetation/fodder unless a passage activates a figure.
“Hay” is first a literal/lexical vegetation or fodder term, and the Greek word translated “hay” in 1 Corinthians 3:12 is also commonly translated grass; the headword is not intrinsically symbolic.
Grade 4: Recurrent canonical motif or strong thematic patternScope: The lexical item is ordinary vegetation/fodder unless a passage activates a figure.
Residual uncertainty: No material residual uncertainty beyond the stated scope limitation.
Scripture
Evidence sources
- Canonical Scripture: MT/LXX/NA28 with NET/ESV comparison — Text loci verified for TSP-S0F Batch 1
- BibleHub lexical summary — Greek chortos: grass / hay / fodder — Accessed/verified 2026-09-20
Combustible material in the work-testing metaphor
In 1 Corinthians 3 hay belongs to the combustible materials contrasted with enduring ones when each person’s work is tested by fire.
Context control: The passage tests work through contrasting materials; it does not explicitly define hay as a universal symbol of “little worth.”
Within 1 Corinthians 3:12–15, hay plausibly functions as a perishable/combustible building material contrasted with enduring materials, but the text does not authorize the universal equation “hay = little worth.”
Grade 5: Contextually probableScope: The passage tests work through contrasting materials; it does not explicitly define hay as a universal symbol of “little worth.”
Strongest alternative: The material contrast may primarily emphasize fire-survivability or quality of work rather than assigning an abstract value-code to each material.
Residual uncertainty: No material residual uncertainty beyond the stated scope limitation.
Scripture
Evidence sources
- Canonical Scripture: MT/LXX/NA28 with NET/ESV comparison — Text loci verified for TSP-S0F Batch 1
- BibleHub lexical summary — Greek chortos: grass / hay / fodder — Accessed/verified 2026-09-20
Lexical mappings
These are cross-tier mappings only; lexical definitions remain owned by the site’s lexical resources.
- GREEK: χόρτος chortos — G5528
Study-aid notice
This page is part of an AI-assisted conservative evangelical Bible-study project. It has passed structured research, review, and QA gates, but it is not inspired or infallible and does not replace Scripture, prayer, pastors, teachers, or local church discernment.
Claims should be tested against Scripture in context. Corrections and Review Policy.