זֵרוּעַ (ze.ru.a)
ze.ru.a
sowing
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun zerua refers to what is sown or the act of sowing itself. It appears in only two verses, linking agricultural practice with divine promise. In Leviticus 26:5, it describes the abundance that follows obedience, where plowing reaches into harvesting. Isaiah 55:10 uses it to illustrate how God’s word produces fruit like rain nourishing the earth.
This word carries a concrete, physical sense of seed or crop rather than abstract spiritual concepts. It emphasizes the tangible results of planting, whether literal grain or metaphorical outcomes of faithfulness. The term connects human labor with divine provision, showing that sowing leads to gathering when conditions are right.
Its rarity in Scripture highlights its specific function: marking moments where agricultural imagery reinforces theological points about blessing and consequence. Translators typically render it as "sowing" or "seed," depending on context. The word reminds readers that spiritual truths often emerge from everyday farming practices familiar to ancient audiences.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word zerua points to the tangible reality of sowing seed. In ancient Israel, this was not just a metaphor but a daily necessity for survival. When Leviticus 11:37 mentions seed being sown, it grounds spiritual laws in physical life. The purity of the land mattered because the harvest depended on it. This connection shows that God cares about the practical details of our work and sustenance.
Isaiah 61:11 takes this concrete image and expands it into a promise of righteousness. Just as rain nourishes the soil to produce a crop, God’s word brings forth good fruit in our lives. We see that spiritual growth follows a similar pattern to farming. It requires time, patience, and the right conditions. The abundance we seek is rooted in faithful planting.
This rare term reminds us that our efforts are not wasted. Whether we are dealing with literal crops or the seeds of kindness, God oversees the growth. We can trust that what we plant in faithfulness will yield a harvest in His time. Let this encourage you to keep sowing good seeds in your daily life.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- sowing1×
- [which] things sown in/ it1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- זֵרוּעֶ֣י/הָ1×
- זֵר֖וּעַ1×
Key Verses
-
Leviticus 11:37
If part of their carcass falls on any sowing seed which is to be sown, it is clean.
This verse links ritual purity with agricultural reality, showing that even physical seed must be protected to remain usable for sowing.
-
Isaiah 61:11
For as the earth produces its bud, and as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring up, so the Lord Yahweh will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.
Here the word illustrates how God’s righteousness springs up naturally from His word, just as plants rise from sown ground.