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G66 · Greek · New Testament
ἄγριος
agrios
Adjective
Wild, fierce

Definition

Wild (as of animals or plants); fierce, savage; untamed

Full Definition

Agrios (from agros, 'field') means 'belonging to the field' — wild, untamed, as opposed to domestic or cultivated. It appears twice in the NT: of John the Baptist's diet of 'wild honey' (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6) — honey from wild bees rather than domesticated hives. The word also appears in classical Greek for fierce animals and untamed persons. The description of John eating wild honey underlines his identity as a wilderness prophet, living apart from the comforts of civilization as a sign of prophetic calling.

Usage & Theological Significance

John the Baptist's agrios (wild) honey and locust diet is not incidental detail — it is theological portraiture. John is the last and greatest of the prophets (Matthew 11:11), living in the wilderness like Elijah (2 Kings 1:8, with hairy cloak and leather belt). His lifestyle embodied his message: the old order was passing away, a new world was breaking in, and radical reorientation ('repent!') was required. What society called wild and marginal, God called prophetic. In Hebrews 11, the heroes of faith 'wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground' — the wilderness is often where God speaks.

Key Bible Verses

Matthew 3:4
John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
Mark 1:6
John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
Matthew 11:11
Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.
Malachi 4:5
See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.
Luke 1:17
And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children...

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