זָרַע (H2232) — Hebrew Lexicon

זָרַע

𐤆𐤓𐤏

zâraʻ

H2232 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

To sow or scatter seed; by extension, to plant, to seed the ground. The term also figuratively refers to producing offspring, propagating, or disseminating (ideas, descendants, or actions) in various contexts. In agricultural settings it denotes the actual act of planting seeds in the ground; in familial and genealogical settings, it conveys the idea of fathering or bringing about progeny or descendants; and figuratively in poetic and prophetic literature, it may refer to spreading or causing something to multiply or propagate.

Semantic Range

to sow or plant (seed), to beget or produce offspring, to disseminate (as in spreading influence or an idea), to cause to grow, to initiate propagation

Root / Etymology

From the root זרע (zaraʻ), meaning primarily 'to sow' or 'to scatter seed.' The verb points directly to the act of sowing seed, with extended usage in reference to the production of offspring. The nominal form זֶרַע (zeraʻ) means 'seed,' supporting the connection to propagation and growth.

Historical & Contextual Notes

זָרַע is frequent in agricultural contexts throughout the Hebrew Bible, especially in Pentateuchal legislation and narratives describing farming life, where it refers quite literally to planting grain or crops. In genealogical and covenantal passages, the term develops a figurative meaning related to offspring or descendants, such as in promises to the patriarchs concerning their 'seed.' In poetic texts (e.g., Psalms, Prophets), זָרַע can metaphorically suggest spreading influence or bringing forth results. The English term 'sow' narrowly captures the agricultural sense; standard translations of the verb do not always communicate the full figurative or generational nuance present in Hebrew usage. In later Hebrew, the term retains these senses, though non-agricultural uses become more prominent in interpretive traditions.

Translation Consistency

primary "sow" 37 occurrences

Most natural and frequent rendering across occurrences (literal agricultural sense and the common figurative sense of producing/propagating). 'Sow' covers planting seed and the metaphorical spreading or producing of offspring/ideas, aligns with the majority of existing translations, and is easy to inflect consistently for all forms.

Alternatives (13 occurrences):

"sown" (9x) "conceives" (1x) "conceive" (1x) "sowers of" (1x) "sower" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to sow; figuratively, to disseminate, plant, fructify; bear, conceive seed, set with sow(-er), yield.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.

Root Family

זרע (Yizereel) — to sow, scatter seed

Root זרע to sow, to scatter seed

Strong's	Lemma	SIBI-P1
H1872	דְּרַע	and his arms
H2220	זְרוֹעַ	in an outstretched arm
H2221	זֵרוּעַ	sown produce
H2233	זֶרַע	in their seed
H2234	זְרַע	in seed of
H2235	זֵרֹעַ	the sown legumes
H248	אֶזְרוֹעַ	and with an arm
H3157	יִזְרְעֵאל	in El-sows
H3158	יִזְרְעֵאלִי	the Yizreʿelite
H3159	יִזְרְעֵאלִית	the Yizreʿelite woman
H4218	מִזְרָע	from seed of

Word Forms

37 distinct forms

SIDANCE	Surface	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2	Occurrences
`H2232-09`	תִּזְרַע֙	tizera	`HVqi2ms`	you shall sow	you (ms) will sow	you (ms) will sow	10
`H2232-36`	זֹרֵ֣עַ	zorea	`HVqrmsa`	yielding	one who sows	that sows	4
`H2232-13`	וּ/זְרַעְתֶּ֖ם	uzeraetem	`HC/Vqq2mp`	and you shall sow	and you will sow	and you will sow	3
`H2232-34`	זִרְע֧וּ	zireu	`HVqv2mp`	sow	Sow!	Sow!	3
`H2232-05`	מַזְרִ֣יעַ	mazeria	`HVhrmsa`	yielding seed	causing to sow seed	causing to sow seed	2
`H2232-11`	תִזְרָ֨עוּ֙	tizerau	`HVqi2mp`	shall you sow	you (masc. plural) will sow seed	you (masc. plural) will sow seed	2
`H2232-25`	יִזָּרֵ֑עַ	yizarea	`HVNi3ms`	is to be sown	he will be sown	is sown	2
`H2232-01`	אֶ֭זְרְעָה	ezereah	`HVqh1cs`	let me sow	let me sow seed	let me sow seed	1
`H2232-02`	הַ/זֹּרְעִ֥ים	hazoreim	`HTd/Vqrmpa`	Those who sow	the sowing ones	the sowing ones	1
`H2232-03`	לַ/זֹּרֵ֔עַ	lazorea	`HRd/Vqrmsa`	to the sower	to the sowing-one	to the sower	1
`H2232-04`	לִ/זְרֹ֑עַ	lizeroa	`HR/Vqc`	to-sow	to sow seed	to sow	1
`H2232-06`	נִזְרָ֔ע	nizera	`HVqi1cp`	we sow	we sow	we sow	1
`H2232-07`	תַזְרִ֔יעַ	tazeria	`HVhi3fs`	conceives	she will cause seed to be sown	she conceives	1
`H2232-08`	תִזָּרַע֙	tizara	`HVNi3fs`	it is sown	she will be sown	it will be sown	1
`H2232-10`	תִּזְרָעֶֽ/נּוּ	tizeraenu	`HVqi2ms/Sp3ms`	you will set	you will sow him	you will sow him	1
`H2232-12`	תִּזְרְע֖וּ	tizereu	`HVqj2mp`	sow	may you sow seed	sow	1
`H2232-14`	וּ/זְרַעְתִּ֤י/הָ	uzeraetiha	`HC/Vqq1cs/Sp3fs`	and-I-will-sow-her	and I will sow her	and I will sow her	1
`H2232-15`	וַ/יִּזְרַ֤ע	vayizera	`HC/Vqw3ms`	and sowed	he sowed seed	he sowed seed	1
`H2232-16`	וַ/יִּזְרָעֶ֖/הָ	vayizeraeha	`HC/Vqw3ms/Sp3fs`	and sowed it	and he sowed her	and he sowed it	1
`H2232-17`	וַ/יִּזְרְע֣וּ	vayizereu	`HC/Vqw3mp`	and they sowed	and they sowed	and they sowed	1
`H2232-18`	וְ/אֶזְרָעֵ/ם֙	veezeraem	`HC/Vqi1cs/Sp3mp`	and-I-will-sow-them	and I will sow them	and I will sow them	1
`H2232-19`	וְ/נִזְרַעְתֶּֽם	venizeraetem	`HC/VNq2mp`	and you shall be sown	and you will be sown	and you shall be sown	1
`H2232-20`	וְ/נִזְרְעָ֥ה	venizereah	`HC/VNq3fs`	and she shall conceive	and she shall be sown	and she shall conceive	1
`H2232-21`	וְ/זָרַעְתִּ֗י	vezaraeti	`HC/Vqq1cs`	and I will sow	and I will sow	and I will sow	1
`H2232-22`	וְ/זֹרֵ֥עַ	vezorea	`HC/Vqrmsa`	but-sows	and the sowing-one	and the one sowing	1
`H2232-23`	וְ/זֹרְעֵ֖י	vezoreey	`HC/Vqrmpc`	and those who sow	and sowers of	and sowers of	1
`H2232-24`	יִזָּרַ֥ע	yizara	`HVNi3ms`	will be sown	he will be sown	will be sown	1
`H2232-26`	יִזְרָ֑ע	yizera	`HVqi3ms`	will sow	he will sow	he will sow	1
`H2232-27`	יִזְרָ֖עוּ	yizerau	`HVqi3mp`	they sow	they sow	they sow	1
`H2232-28`	זָרַ֣ע	zara	`HVqp3ms`	Israel had sown	seed	sowed	1
`H2232-29`	זָרְע֤וּ	zareu	`HVqp3cp`	they have sown	they sowed	they sowed	1
`H2232-30`	זָרֻ֣עַ	zarua	`HVqsmsa`	is sown	sown one	is sown	1
`H2232-31`	זְרַ֣ע	zera	`HVqv2ms`	sow	seed	sow	1
`H2232-32`	זְרַעְתֶּ֨ם	zeraetem	`HVqp2mp`	you have sown	you have sown	you have sown	1
`H2232-33`	זְרוּעָֽה	zeruah	`HVqsfsa`	sown	sown	sown	1
`H2232-35`	זֹרָ֔עוּ	zorau	`HVPp3cp`	have they been sown	were sown	they were sown	1
`H2232-37`	זֹרְעֵ֖י	zoreey	`HVqrmpc`	who sow	sowers of	sowers of	1

Occurrences in Scripture

56 occurrences

Filter by SIDANCE:

SIDANCE	Reference	Word	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2
`H2232-05`	Genesis 1:11	מַזְרִ֣יעַ	mazeria	`HVhrmsa`	bearing	causing to sow seed	causing to sow seed
`H2232-05`	Genesis 1:12	מַזְרִ֤יעַ	mazeria	`HVhrmsa`	yielding seed	causing to sow seed	causing to sow seed
`H2232-36`	Genesis 1:29	זֹרֵ֣עַ	zorea	`HVqrmsa`	yielding	one who sows	that sows
`H2232-36`	Genesis 1:29	זֹרֵ֣עַ	zorea-2	`HVqrmsa`	yielding	one who sows	that sows
`H2232-15`	Genesis 26:12	וַ/יִּזְרַ֤ע	vayizera	`HC/Vqw3ms`	and sowed	he sowed seed	he sowed seed
`H2232-13`	Genesis 47:23	וּ/זְרַעְתֶּ֖ם	uzeraetem	`HC/Vqq2mp`	and you shall sow	and you will sow	and you will sow
`H2232-09`	Exodus 23:10	תִּזְרַ֣ע	tizera	`HVqi2ms`	you shall sow	you (ms) will sow	you (ms) will sow
`H2232-09`	Exodus 23:16	תִּזְרַ֖ע	tizera	`HVqi2ms`	you-sow	you (ms) will sow	you (ms) will sow
`H2232-25`	Leviticus 11:37	יִזָּרֵ֑עַ	yizarea	`HVNi3ms`	is to be sown	he will be sown	is sown
`H2232-07`	Leviticus 12:2	תַזְרִ֔יעַ	tazeria	`HVhi3fs`	conceives	she will cause seed to be sown	she conceives
`H2232-09`	Leviticus 19:19	תִזְרַ֣ע	tizera	`HVqi2ms`	you shall sow	you (ms) will sow	you (ms) will sow
`H2232-09`	Leviticus 25:3	תִּזְרַ֣ע	tizera	`HVqi2ms`	you shall sow	you (ms) will sow	you (ms) will sow
`H2232-09`	Leviticus 25:4	תִזְרָ֔ע	tizera	`HVqi2ms`	you shall sow	you (ms) will sow	you (ms) will sow
`H2232-11`	Leviticus 25:11	תִזְרָ֔עוּ	tizerau	`HVqi2mp`	you-shall-sow	you (masc. plural) will sow seed	you (masc. plural) will sow seed
`H2232-06`	Leviticus 25:20	נִזְרָ֔ע	nizera	`HVqi1cp`	we sow	we sow	we sow
`H2232-13`	Leviticus 25:22	וּ/זְרַעְתֶּ֗ם	uzeraetem	`HC/Vqq2mp`	and you shall sow	and you will sow	and you will sow
`H2232-13`	Leviticus 26:16	וּ/זְרַעְתֶּ֤ם	uzeraetem	`HC/Vqq2mp`	and-you(pl)-will-sow	and you will sow	and you will sow
`H2232-20`	Numbers 5:28	וְ/נִזְרְעָ֥ה	venizereah	`HC/VNq3fs`	and she shall conceive	and she shall be sown	and she shall conceive
`H2232-09`	Deuteronomy 11:10	תִּזְרַע֙	tizera	`HVqi2ms`	you sow	you (ms) will sow	you (ms) will sow
`H2232-25`	Deuteronomy 21:4	יִזָּרֵ֑עַ	yizarea	`HVNi3ms`	sown	he will be sown	it will be sown
`H2232-09`	Deuteronomy 22:9	תִזְרַ֥ע	tizera	`HVqi2ms`	you shall sow	you (ms) will sow	you (ms) will sow
`H2232-09`	Deuteronomy 22:9	תִּזְרָ֔ע	tizera-2	`HVqi2ms`	you sow	you (ms) will sow	you (ms) will sow
`H2232-08`	Deuteronomy 29:22	תִזָּרַע֙	tizara	`HVNi3fs`	it is sown	she will be sown	it will be sown
`H2232-28`	Judges 6:3	זָרַ֣ע	zara	`HVqp3ms`	Israel had sown	seed	sowed
`H2232-16`	Judges 9:45	וַ/יִּזְרָעֶ֖/הָ	vayizeraeha	`HC/Vqw3ms/Sp3fs`	and sowed it	and he sowed her	and he sowed it
`H2232-34`	2 Kings 19:29	זִרְע֧וּ	zireu	`HVqv2mp`	sow	Sow!	Sow!
`H2232-10`	Isaiah 17:10	תִּזְרָעֶֽ/נּוּ	tizeraenu	`HVqi2ms/Sp3ms`	you will set	you will sow him	you will sow him
`H2232-04`	Isaiah 28:24	לִ/זְרֹ֑עַ	lizeroa	`HR/Vqc`	to-sow	to sow seed	to sow
`H2232-09`	Isaiah 30:23	תִּזְרַ֣ע	tizera	`HVqi2ms`	you sow	you (ms) will sow	you (ms) will sow
`H2232-37`	Isaiah 32:20	זֹרְעֵ֖י	zoreey	`HVqrmpc`	who sow	sowers of	sowers of
`H2232-34`	Isaiah 37:30	זִרְע֧וּ	zireu	`HVqv2mp`	sow	Sow!	Sow!
`H2232-35`	Isaiah 40:24	זֹרָ֔עוּ	zorau	`HVPp3cp`	have they been sown	were sown	they were sown
`H2232-03`	Isaiah 55:10	לַ/זֹּרֵ֔עַ	lazorea	`HRd/Vqrmsa`	to the sower	to the sowing-one	to the sower
`H2232-33`	Jeremiah 2:2	זְרוּעָֽה	zeruah	`HVqsfsa`	sown	sown	sown
`H2232-12`	Jeremiah 4:3	תִּזְרְע֖וּ	tizereu	`HVqj2mp`	sow	may you sow seed	sow
`H2232-29`	Jeremiah 12:13	זָרְע֤וּ	zareu	`HVqp3cp`	they have sown	they sowed	they sowed
`H2232-21`	Jeremiah 31:27	וְ/זָרַעְתִּ֗י	vezaraeti	`HC/Vqq1cs`	and I will sow	and I will sow	and I will sow
`H2232-11`	Jeremiah 35:7	תִזְרָ֨עוּ֙	tizerau	`HVqi2mp`	shall you sow	you (masc. plural) will sow seed	you (masc. plural) will sow seed
`H2232-36`	Jeremiah 50:16	זוֹרֵ֨עַ֙	zorea	`HVqrmsa`	the sower	one who sows	one who sows
`H2232-19`	Ezekiel 36:9	וְ/נִזְרַעְתֶּֽם	venizeraetem	`HC/VNq2mp`	and you shall be sown	and you will be sown	and you shall be sown
`H2232-14`	Hosea 2:25	וּ/זְרַעְתִּ֤י/הָ	uzeraetiha	`HC/Vqq1cs/Sp3fs`	and-I-will-sow-her	and I will sow her	and I will sow her
`H2232-27`	Hosea 8:7	יִזְרָ֖עוּ	yizerau	`HVqi3mp`	they sow	they sow	they sow
`H2232-34`	Hosea 10:12	זִרְע֨וּ	zireu	`HVqv2mp`	Sow	Sow!	Sow!
`H2232-09`	Micah 6:15	תִזְרַ֖ע	tizera	`HVqi2ms`	will sow	you (ms) will sow	you (ms) will sow
`H2232-24`	Nahum 1:14	יִזָּרַ֥ע	yizara	`HVNi3ms`	will be sown	he will be sown	will be sown
`H2232-32`	Haggai 1:6	זְרַעְתֶּ֨ם	zeraetem	`HVqp2mp`	you have sown	you have sown	you have sown
`H2232-18`	Zechariah 10:9	וְ/אֶזְרָעֵ/ם֙	veezeraem	`HC/Vqi1cs/Sp3mp`	and-I-will-sow-them	and I will sow them	and I will sow them
`H2232-30`	Psalms 97:11	זָרֻ֣עַ	zarua	`HVqsmsa`	is sown	sown one	is sown
`H2232-17`	Psalms 107:37	וַ/יִּזְרְע֣וּ	vayizereu	`HC/Vqw3mp`	and they sowed	and they sowed	and they sowed
`H2232-02`	Psalms 126:5	הַ/זֹּרְעִ֥ים	hazoreim	`HTd/Vqrmpa`	Those who sow	the sowing ones	the sowing ones

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