זרע

Verb

זְרַע • (zəraʿ)

1. to sow, to seed, to plant

Etymology

Compare Aramaic זְרַע‎ (zəraʿ, “to sow”), זַרְעָא‎ (zarʿā, “seed”), Arabic زَرَعَ‎ (zaraʿa, “to sow”), زَرْع‎ (zarʿ, “seed”).

Verb

זָרַע • (zará‛) (pa'al construction)

1. to seed, to sow
   • Psalms 126:5, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     ‏הַזֹּרְעִים בְּדִמְעָה בְּרִנָּה יִקְצֹרוּ׃‎‎

     hazor'ím b'dim'á b'riná yiktsóru.
     hazzōrəʿīm bəḏimʿā bərinnā yiqṣṓrū.

     They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

2. to spread, to disseminate

Noun

זֶרַע • (zéra‛) m (plural indefinite זְרָעִים‎) [pattern: קֶטֶל]

1. seed
2. (Biblical Hebrew) seedtime
   • Genesis 8:22, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     ‏עֹד כָּל־יְמֵי הָאָרֶץ זֶרַע וְקָצִיר וְקֹר וָחֹם וְקַיִץ וָחֹרֶף וְיֹום וָלַיְלָה לֹא יִשְׁבֹּֽתוּ׃‎‎

     While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

3. semen
   • משנה תורה שער אבות התומאה ה יז

     שכבת זַרְעוֹ‎ של עכו״ם טהור

   • Leviticus 15:16

     ‏וְאִישׁ כִּי תֵצֵא מִמֶּנּוּ שִׁכְבַת זָרַע וְרָחַץ בַּמַּיִם אֶת כָּל בְּשָׂרוֹ וְטָמֵא עַד הָעָרֶב׃‎‎

     v'-ish ki tetse' mimenu shikhvat zara v'rakhats bamayim et kol b'saro v'tame' ad ha'arev.

     When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening.

4. offspring, descendents, scions
   • Genesis 22:17, with translation of the New International Version:

     ‏כִּי בָרֵךְ אֲבָרֶכְךָ וְהַרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה אֶת זַרְעֲךָ כְּכוֹכְבֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם וְכַחוֹל אֲשֶׁר עַל שְׂפַת הַיָּם וְיִרַשׁ זַרְעֲךָ אֵת שַׁעַר אֹיְבָיו׃‎‎

     I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,

   • Ezra 9:2

     ‏כִּי־נָשְׂאוּ מִבְּנֹתֵיהֶם לָהֶם וְלִבְנֵיהֶם וְהִתְעָרְבוּ זֶרַע הַקֹּדֶשׁ‎

     ki-nashu mibenotihem lahem ve'libenihem v'hitarebu zera hakodesh.

     For they have taken their daughters for themselves and for their sons and they have mingled the holy race.

References

• H2232 in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible, 1979
• H2233 in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible, 1979

Anagrams

• עזר‎