H2232 — זָרַע (zâraʻ)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H2232
Original: זָרַע
Transliteration: zâraʻ
Pronunciation: zaw-rah'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Cognate noun: H2233 זֶרַע (zeraʻ) — "seed"
Occurrences: 54 unique verses / 65 tokens across 19 books
First Occurrence: Gen 1:11 — "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed (mazriaʻ zeraʻ)"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

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

The verb denotes the act of producing or distributing seed — either agriculturally (sowing grain, planting a field) or biologically (bearing seed, conceiving offspring). The same root underlies the noun zeraʻ ("seed, offspring, posterity," H2233), and the two are frequently paired in the same clause (cognate accusative "sow seed").

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	46	to sow (seed in a field); to bear, yield
Niphal	6	to be sown; to be made pregnant / conceive
Hiphil	3	to yield seed, produce seed (causative: mazriaʻ zeraʻ, Gen 1:11–12; Lev 12:2)
Pual	1	to be sown (Isa 40:24)

[Tallied from hebrew_parser.py output across all verb occurrences of lemma זרע.]

The Hiphil participle mazriaʻ ("seed-producing / yielding seed") is the specifically productive-causative form used in Gen 1:11–12 of plants that generate their own seed, and in Lev 12:2 of a woman who "conceives seed." The Qal participle zoreaʻ ("sower / one sowing") dominates proverbial and wisdom contexts (Gen 1:29; Prov 11:18; 22:8; Ps 126:5; Ecc 11:4; Jer 50:16).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation cluster	Verses	%
sow / sown / sowed / sower / to sow	~40	~74%
yielding / bearing (Hiphil ptcp, of plants)	4	7%
conceive seed / have conceived seed	2	4%
set (with seed)	1	2%
other auxiliary glosses ("shall," "ye shall," etc.)	~7	~13%

Dominant KJV lexical choice is "sow" and its inflections; the Hiphil of plants is rendered "yielding/bearing (seed)," and the Niphal/Hiphil of a woman is rendered "conceive seed."

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Haggai	1	2.6
Nahum	1	2.1
Hosea	3	1.5
Leviticus	9	1.0
Micah	1	1.0
Ecclesiastes	2	0.9
Isaiah	7	0.5
Zechariah	1	0.5
Deuteronomy	4	0.4
Jeremiah	6	0.4
Genesis	5	0.3
Judges	2	0.3
Exodus	2	0.2
Job	2	0.2
Proverbs	2	0.2
Numbers	1	0.1
2 Kings	1	0.1
Psalms	3	0.1
Ezekiel	1	0.1

Patterns: Concentrated in Torah-covenantal legislation (Leviticus 9x — sabbatical-year and jubilee land law; Deuteronomy 4x) and in prophetic futility/harvest oracles (Isaiah 7x, Jeremiah 6x, Hosea 3x, plus Micah, Nahum, Haggai, Zechariah). Wisdom attestations (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes) use the verb proverbially. Creation (Gen 1) and patriarchal (Gen 26, 47) instances are landmark.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Plants producing their own seed (Hiphil, Edenic diet language)¶

The Gen 1 Priestly account employs the Hiphil participle mazriaʻ to designate vegetation that internally generates seed — self-propagating plants — and the Qal participle zoreaʻ for seed-producing herbs given as food. - Gen 1:11 — "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed (ʻeseb mazriaʻ zeraʻ), [and] the fruit tree yielding fruit" - Gen 1:12 — "the earth brought forth grass, [and] herb yielding seed after his kind" - Gen 1:29 — "every herb bearing seed (ʻeseb zoreaʻ zeraʻ)... and every tree, in the which [is] the fruit of a tree yielding seed (zoreaʻ zeraʻ); to you it shall be for meat"

2. Literal agricultural sowing¶

Planting seed in a field; the base agronomic sense. - Gen 26:12 — "Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received... an hundredfold" - Exo 23:10 — "Six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof" - Isa 28:24 — "Doth the plowman plow all day to sow?" - Ecc 11:6 — "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand"

3. Sabbatical / covenantal land legislation¶

The verb is the legal hinge of the sabbath-year and jubilee statutes — prohibitions or commands regulating when land may/may not be sown. - Lev 25:3–4 — "Six years thou shalt sow thy field... but in the seventh year... thou shalt neither sow thy field" - Lev 25:11, 20, 22 — jubilee prohibition and promise of the eighth-year sowing - Lev 19:19 — "Thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed" - Deu 22:9 — "Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds"

4. Conception / bearing of seed (human reproduction)¶

Niphal and Hiphil of a woman who conceives / is made fruitful — metaphor drawn from the agricultural domain onto human generation. - Lev 12:2 — "If a woman have conceived seed (tazriaʻ), and born a man child" - Num 5:28 — "then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed (nizreʻah zaraʻ)"

5. Prophetic futility / reversal oracles¶

A recurrent prophetic motif: "sow but not reap" — Yahweh's covenant curse reversed against disobedient Israel. - Mic 6:15 — "Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap" - Hag 1:6 — "Ye have sown much, and bring in little" - Lev 26:16 — "ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it" - Jer 12:13 — "They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns" - Hos 8:7 — "they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind"

6. Moral / wisdom sowing-and-reaping¶

Metaphorical extension: conduct is "sown" and a corresponding harvest is "reaped." - Job 4:8 — "they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same" - Pro 11:18 — "to him that soweth righteousness [shall be] a sure reward" - Pro 22:8 — "He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity" - Hos 10:12 — "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy" - Psa 126:5 — "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy"

7. Divine sowing / scattering of Israel¶

Yahweh himself as the sower — either scattering (exile) or replanting (restoration). - Hos 2:23 — "And I will sow her (uzraʻtîhâ) unto me in the earth" - Jer 31:27 — "I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast" - Zec 10:9 — "And I will sow them among the people"

8. Negated "not sown" as desolation formula¶

The land or place "shall not be sown" as a marker of total covenant judgment. - Deu 29:23 — "it is not sown, nor beareth" - Jer 2:2 — "in a land that was not sown" - Isa 40:24 — "yea, they shall not be sown" (Pual)

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
H2233 zeraʻ (seed)	H2233	14x (26%)	Cognate accusative: "sow seed" / "yielding seed" (Gen 1:11–12, 29; Lev 11:37; 26:16)
H776 ʼerets (land/earth)	H776	13x (24%)	Object of sowing: "sow the land / field" (Gen 26:12; Exo 23:10; Lev 25:3)
H3808 lōʼ (not)	H3808	18x (33%)	Prohibition ("thou shalt not sow") or futility ("not sown")
H7114 qâtsar (reap/harvest)	H7114	11x (20%)	Sow–reap antithesis (Lev 25:11; Mic 6:15; Hos 8:7; Pro 22:8; Ecc 11:4; Psa 126:5)
H8141 shâneh (year)	H8141	10x (19%)	Sabbatical-year framing: "six years sow... seventh year"
H398 ʼâkal (eat)	H398	8x (15%)	Sowing → eating the produce (Gen 1:29; Lev 25:20–22; Isa 37:30)
H8393 tᵉbûʼâh (increase/produce)	H8393	8x (15%)	"Sow... and gather the increase"
H3754 kerem (vineyard)	H3754	7x (13%)	Paired with planting a vineyard (Lev 25:3–4; Jer 35:7; Psa 107:37)
H5193 nâṭaʻ (plant)	H5193	6x (11%)	Sowing paired with planting (Jer 2:2; 35:7; Psa 107:37)
H6529 pᵉrîy (fruit)	H6529	6x (11%)	Sow–fruit yield (Gen 1:11; Exo 23:10; Lev 25:3, 22)
H3068 YHWH	H3068	9x (17%)	Yahweh as subject of sowing (Hos 2:23; Jer 31:27; Zec 10:9)

Word Family / Cognates¶

H2233 זֶרַע (zeraʻ) — noun: "seed, offspring, sowing, posterity" (~205v); the productive output of zaraʻ.
H2234 זְרַע (zᵉraʻ) — Aramaic noun, "seed" (Dan 2:43).
H4218 מִזְרָע (mizrâʻ) — noun, "thing sown, planted field" (Isa 19:7).
H4702 מַזְרֵעָה (mazrêʻâh) — noun, "place for sowing, planted field" (Isa 19:7 qere).

Synonyms¶

No synonyms returned by search_relationships.py for H2232.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms returned by search_relationships.py for H2232.

Easily Confused Words (by KJV overlap)¶

Word	Strong's	Shared KJV gloss	Key Difference
H5193 נָטַע (nâṭaʻ)	H5193	"plant"	nâṭaʻ = to set/plant a tree, vine, shoot; zâraʻ = to scatter seed in a field. Often paired but distinct actions.
G4687 σπείρω (speírō)	G4687	"sow" (NT)	LXX & NT primary equivalent; carries the same agricultural-to-metaphor range.
H6213 ʻâsâh	H6213	"yielding" (Gen 1:11–12 uses both)	ʻâsâh = to make/produce (trees "making" fruit); zâraʻ (Hiphil) = specifically producing seed.
H4218 מִזְרָע (mizrâʻ)	H4218	"sown"	Noun (a sown thing / planted field), not the verb.

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
002002001014	Plant	Primary agrarian field: sowing, seed-bearing, and cultivated growth
002002002005	Exist	Secondary generative/life-propagation field returned for creation and fruitfulness contexts
002001001041	Pregnant	Matches the study's reproductive extension in Lev 12:2 and Num 5:28

LXX Mapping (Hebrew → Greek)¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
σπείρω (speírō)	G4687	42x	8.38	Overwhelming primary equivalent; full semantic overlap (literal sowing + metaphorical)
σπέρμα (spérma)	G4690	16x	5.06	When zaraʻ is used with cognate noun or participially = "seed-yielding"
θερίζω (therízō)	G2325	5x	6.51	Antonym pairing — "sow–reap" contexts
καρπός (karpós)	G2590	8x	5.07	Gen 1:11–12; the "fruit" produced by zaraʻ
ἀμπελών (ampelṓn)	G290	6x	5.17	Vineyard-sowing contexts (Lev 25:3–4; Deu 22:9)
φυτεύω (phyteúō)	G5452	4x	5.43	"Plant" — overlap with planting vocabulary
ἐνιαυτός (eniautós)	G1763	5x	4.35	Sabbatical-year contexts (Lev 25)
χόρτος (chórtos)	G5528	3x	4.91	Gen 1:11–12 grass/herb context

Primary LXX bridge: zaraʻ → speírō (G4687). Gen 1:11–12, 29 LXX uses speírō participles for the "seed-yielding" clauses.