H2236 — זָרַק (zaraq)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H2236
Original: זָרַק
Transliteration: zaraq
Pronunciation: zaw-rak'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Occurrences: 33 unique verses (47 tokens) across 9 books
First Occurrence: Exo 9:8 — "Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle (zaraq) it up toward heaven"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to sprinkle (fluid or solid particles): — be here and there, scatter, sprinkle, strew.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	32	dash, toss, sprinkle (active ritual application)
Pual	2	be sprinkled (passive — water of purification not applied)

The Qal dominates at 94%. The two Pual occurrences (Num 19:13, 19:20) both refer to the red heifer purification water not having been sprinkled on an unclean person — a passive of non-performance.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
sprinkle / sprinkled / shall sprinkle	~28	85%
scatter / and scatter	2	6%
strowed	1	3%
are here and there	1	3%
other phrasing	1	3%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Leviticus	12	1.4
Exodus	6	0.5
2 Chronicles	4	0.5
Numbers	3	0.2
Ezekiel	3	0.2
2 Kings	2	0.3
Hosea	1	0.5
Job	1	0.1
Isaiah	1	0.1

Leviticus contains 36% of all occurrences, followed by Exodus at 18%. Combined, the Pentateuch accounts for 64% (21 of 33 verses). The word is almost entirely cultic-sacrificial; only 3 of 33 uses fall outside sacrificial contexts (Job 2:12, Isa 28:25, Hos 7:9).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Sacrificial Blood Dashing on the Altar¶

The dominant use — priests dash or toss blood against/around the altar after slaughter. - Lev 1:5 — "the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar" - Lev 3:2 — "kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about" - Lev 7:2 — "the blood thereof shall he sprinkle round about upon the altar" - 2 Chr 29:22 — "the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar: likewise... they sprinkled the blood upon the altar"

2. Covenant Ratification Blood Application¶

Blood dashed on persons or objects to seal a covenant. - Exo 24:6 — "Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar" - Exo 24:8 — "Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant"

3. Priestly Consecration¶

Blood applied during ordination of Aaron and his sons. - Exo 29:16 — "thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar" - Exo 29:20 — "take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron... and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about" - Lev 8:19 — "Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about" - Lev 8:24 — "Moses... sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about"

4. Eschatological / Prophetic Cleansing¶

God as subject, sprinkling for purification in future restoration. - Eze 36:25 — "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you"

5. Non-Cultic Scattering / Tossing¶

Rare uses outside the sacrificial system — scattering material broadly. - Exo 9:8 — "let Moses sprinkle it up toward heaven" (ashes producing plague boils) - Isa 28:25 — "doth he not... scatter the cummin" (agricultural sowing) - Job 2:12 — "sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven" (grief/mourning) - Hos 7:9 — "gray hairs are here and there upon him" (scattered aging)

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
שָׁחַט (shachat)	H7819	13x (39%)	Slaughter precedes blood-dashing: "kill... and sprinkle the blood"
סָבִיב (sabiyb)	H5439	12x (36%)	"sprinkle round about" — directional qualifier on the altar
אַהֲרוֹן (Aharon)	H175	10x (30%)	Aaron as officiant or his sons performing the rite
בֵּן (ben)	H1121	10x (30%)	"Aaron's sons" — priestly agents of zaraq
כֹּהֵן (kohen)	H3548	9x (27%)	"the priest(s) shall sprinkle" — role designation
יָד (yad)	H3027	7x (21%)	Blood received/applied from the priest's hand
עֹלָה (olah)	H5930	5x (15%)	Burnt offering context — blood dashed before burning
אַיִל (ayil)	H352	4x (12%)	Ram as sacrificial animal whose blood is dashed

Word Family / Cognates¶

H4219 מִזְרָק (mizraq) — derived noun: sprinkling bowl, basin (used to catch and dash blood; 32 occurrences)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
נָזָה (nazah)	H5137	"sprinkle"	nazah = flick/spatter with the finger (fine droplets, Lev 4:6 hyssop/finger technique); zaraq = dash/toss from a bowl (bulk application against the altar)
ῥαντίζω (rhantizo)	G4472	"sprinkled"	Greek NT word for ceremonial sprinkling (Heb 9:13, 19, 21); translates both zaraq and nazah contexts

Semantic Domains¶

Scatter — Other words: בדר (A921), בזר (H967), זרה (H2219), מוג (H4127), מלח (A4415), מלח (H4414)
Mixed — Other words: בלל (H1101), דשׁן (H1878), לושׁ (H3888), מהל (H4107), מסך (H4537)

LXX Mapping¶

The LXX does not use a single dedicated verb for zaraq. Instead, the translators render the action periphrastically through its contextual elements:

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrence	PMI	Notes
αἷμα (haima) G129	23	5.80	"blood" — the LXX retains the blood-dashing context rather than translating the verb itself
θυσιαστήριον (thysiastērion) G2379	19	5.39	"altar" — destination of the dashed blood
σφάζω (sphazo) G4969	11	6.75	"slaughter" — the preceding action before blood-dashing
κύκλῳ (kyklōi) G2945	12	5.42	"round about" — directional modifier for altar application
ἱερεύς (hiereus) G2409	11	3.53	"priest" — the agent performing the rite

No single Greek verb serves as a consistent equivalent of zaraq. The LXX typically uses προσχέω (proscheo, "pour toward") for the dashing action, but this does not appear in the NT vocabulary.