A trailing or climbing plant. These plants grow along the ground or climb up surfaces like walls or trees. Gourds belong to the same plant family as cucumbers, melons, and squash.
The Bible mentions gourds in two key passages:
In Jonah 4:6–10, God made a plant grow quickly to provide shade for Jonah. Some translations call it a "gourd," but the original Hebrew word may refer to a castor oil plant (Ricinus communis) rather than a true gourd. The plant withered when God sent a worm to damage it, leaving Jonah exposed to the sun.
In 2 Kings 4:38–41, during a famine, one of Elisha's followers gathered wild gourds to add to a stew. These were likely Citrullus colocynthis, a cucumber-like vine with a bitter, poisonous fruit. When they tasted the bitter stew, the people cried out, "There is death in the pot!" Elisha then performed a miracle, adding flour to the stew to make it safe to eat.
Gourds have been cultivated for thousands of years. Some types are edible, while others are used to make containers, bowls, ladles, and water jugs when dried.