H2233 — זֶרַע (zeraʻ)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H2233
Original: זֶרַע
Transliteration: zeraʻ
Pronunciation: zeh'-rah
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: זָרַע (zaraʻ, H2232) — to sow, scatter seed
Occurrences: 205 unique verses (243 tokens) across 28 books
First Occurrence: Gen 1:11 — "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From H2232; seed; figuratively, fruit, plant, sowing-time, posterity:— carnally, child, fruitful, seed(-time), sowing-time.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
seed (all forms: seed, the seed, thy seed, his seed, etc.)	~190	93%
carnally	3	1.5%
child	2	1.0%
seedtime / sowing time	2	1.0%
fruitful	1	0.5%
Other (prepositions, articles absorbed)	~7	3%

The word is overwhelmingly rendered "seed" in the KJV, with possessive pronouns attached ("thy seed," "his seed," "their seed") reflecting the covenantal possessive construction.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Malachi	2	3.6
Genesis	48	3.1
Esther	5	3.0
Leviticus	22	2.6
Haggai	1	2.6
Isaiah	23	1.8
Deuteronomy	14	1.5
Jeremiah	18	1.3
Numbers	9	0.7
Psalms	17	0.7
Nehemiah	3	0.7
Amos	1	0.7
Ezra	2	0.7
1 Samuel	5	0.6
2 Kings	4	0.6
Daniel	2	0.6
1 Kings	4	0.5
Zechariah	1	0.5
Ecclesiastes	1	0.5
Exodus	5	0.4
Ezekiel	5	0.4
2 Samuel	3	0.4
Job	3	0.3
2 Chronicles	2	0.2
1 Chronicles	2	0.2
Joshua	1	0.2
Proverbs	1	0.1
Ruth	1	—

Genesis dominates by raw count (48 occurrences, 23% of all uses), reflecting the patriarchal covenant promises. Isaiah is second (23 occurrences), carrying the prophetic/messianic applications. Leviticus (22) uses it for both agricultural and bodily seed in purity legislation. Psalms and Jeremiah round out the top five. The word appears across Torah, Prophets, and Writings, showing broad usage across genres.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Offspring / Descendants (Covenant Promise)¶

The dominant usage — descendants promised, identified, or addressed as a collective lineage. - Gen 12:7 — "Unto thy seed will I give this land" - Gen 15:5 — "So shall thy seed be" (stars analogy) - Gen 22:17 — "in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand" - Gen 22:18 — "in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" - 2 Sam 7:12 — "I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels" - Isa 53:10 — "he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days"

2. National / Ethnic Identity¶

Seed as a group marker identifying a people by ancestry. - Ezra 9:2 — "the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands" - Neh 9:2 — "the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers" - Esther 6:13 — "if Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews" - Isa 45:25 — "In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified" - Jer 31:36 — "the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever" - 2 Kings 25:25 — "Ishmael... of the seed royal"

3. Agricultural Seed (Literal)¶

Physical seed for planting, harvest, and agricultural activity. - Gen 1:11 — "the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit" - Gen 1:29 — "every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth" - Gen 47:23 — "lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land" - Lev 27:16 — "according to the seed thereof: an homer of barley seed" - Isa 55:10 — "giveth seed to the sower, and bread to the eater" - Eccl 11:6 — "In the morning sow thy seed"

4. Bodily Seed (Procreative / Ritual Context)¶

Semen in procreative and purity-law contexts. - Lev 15:16 — "if any man's seed of copulation go out from him" - Lev 15:17 — "every garment... whereon is the seed of copulation" - Lev 15:18 — "The woman also with whom man shall lie with seed of copulation" - Lev 18:20 — "thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife" (lit. "give thy lying of seed") - Num 5:13 — "a man lie with her carnally" (lit. "lying of seed")

5. Moral / Spiritual Character by Lineage¶

Seed as a marker of inherited moral character or spiritual identity. - Isa 1:4 — "a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters" - Isa 57:3 — "the seed of the adulterer and the whore" - Isa 57:4 — "are ye not... a seed of falsehood?" - Isa 65:23 — "they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD" - Jer 2:21 — "I had planted thee... wholly a right seed"

6. Sowing Time / Agricultural Season¶

Temporal marker for agricultural cycles. - Gen 8:22 — "seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat... shall not cease" - Lev 26:5 — "the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time" - Lev 26:16 — "ye shall sow your seed in vain"

7. Individual Future Offspring (Specific Child)¶

A single promised or anticipated descendant rather than a collective line. - Gen 3:15 — "I will put enmity between... thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head" (singular pronoun) - Gen 4:25 — "God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel" - 1 Sam 1:11 — "wilt thou... give unto thine handmaid a man child" (lit. "seed of men")

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
אֶרֶץ (ʼerets)	H776	57×	"thy seed shall inherit the land" — land promise
נָתַן (nâthan)	H5414	43×	"I will give... unto thy seed" — covenant grant
בֵּן (bên)	H1121	31×	"seed" and "sons/children" in parallel
יוֹם (yôwm)	H3117	28×	"thy seed for ever" — temporal permanence
יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrâʼêl)	H3478	27×	"the seed of Israel" — national identity
עוֹלָם (ʻôwlâm)	H5769	21×	"thy seed for ever / everlasting covenant"
אָב (ʼâb)	H1	19×	"thy fathers... and to their seed"
אַחַר (ʼachar)	H310	17×	"thy seed after thee" — generational succession

Word Family / Cognates¶

H2232 זָרַע (zaraʻ) — root verb: to sow, scatter seed (H2232-zara.md)

Synonyms¶

H1121 בֵּן (bên) — son, child (individual offspring vs. collective lineage) (H1121-ben.md)
H6529 פְּרִי (perîy) — fruit (agricultural product; metaphorical for offspring)
H6631 צֶאֱצָא (tseʼĕtsâʼ) — offspring, that which comes forth (rare; poetic synonym)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
σπέρμα (sperma)	G4690	"seed"	Greek NT equivalent; zera is the Hebrew source word
σπόρος (sporos)	G4703	"seed"	Greek: specifically seed as sown material, not offspring
בֵּן (bên)	H1121	"child"	bên = individual son; zera = collective lineage or physical seed
יֶלֶד (yeled)	H3206	"child"	yeled = a born child; zera = seed/offspring as a line

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrence	PMI Score	Notes
σπέρμα (sperma) G4690	170	33.85	Primary equivalent (~83% of LXX renderings)
σπείρω (speirō) G4687	17	15.01	When context is agricultural sowing
σπόρος (sporos) G4703	6	11.86	Concrete seed for planting
γένος (genos) G1085	9	9.54	When seed means "race/kind"
γενεά (genea) G1074	12	8.41	When seed means "generation"

The overwhelming LXX mapping to σπέρμα (G4690) with 170 co-occurrences makes this one of the strongest Hebrew-Greek bridges in the OT.