A vine is any plant with a flexible stem that climbs, twines, or spreads along a surface or support. The common grapevine (Vitis vinifera) is mentioned throughout the Bible. The fruitful vine (Ezekiel 17:5–10) and the vine brought out of Egypt (Psalm 80:8) were used as symbols of the Jewish people. Jesus compared himself to the true vine, with his disciples being the branches (John 15:1–6).
The grapevine of Europe, Asia, and Africa sometimes grows like a tree, with stems up to 45.7 centimeters (1.5 feet) across. The branches are often trained on a trellis and can produce bunches of grapes weighing 4.5 to 5.4 kilograms (10 to 12 pounds), with individual grapes as large as small plums. Some bunches have been known to weigh as much as 11.8 kilograms (26 pounds). The vines of the Holy Land were always famous for their abundant growth and for the huge clusters of grapes they produced. This explains why the spies sent to explore the promised land needed a pole to carry some of the grape clusters back (Numbers 13:23–24).
The wild grape (Vitis orientalis) is mentioned in Isaiah 5:2–4, Jeremiah 2:21, and Ezekiel 15:2–6. It is known as the native wild fox grape and has small, black, sour berries about the size of currants with very little juice.