זֶ֫רַע (ze.ra)
ze.ra
seed
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 188 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun zera primarily means seed, covering both the physical grain scattered in a field and the biological semen from which life begins. Its root verb describes the act of sowing, so the word retains a sense of potential energy: it is not just a static object but something that contains the promise of future growth. This dual nature allows zera to bridge the gap between agriculture and genealogy.
In Scripture, this range extends from literal harvests to national identity. God promises Abraham that his zera will be as numerous as the stars (Genesis 15:5), using the word to denote descendants rather than biological material alone. The term also carries moral weight; Isaiah describes a community of believers as a "seed of evildoers" or a "seed of righteousness," linking lineage with character and behavior.
A key theological point arises in Genesis 3:15, where God speaks of enmity between the serpent and the woman’s zera. While some modern scholars argue this refers only to Israel’s collective struggle against evil, historic Christian tradition has understood this as a prophetic reference to Christ. This interpretation rests on the singular usage of the word in context, viewing Jesus as the ultimate offspring who defeats the enemy.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word zera carries a quiet power in Scripture. It describes the small grain placed in soil, but it also points to the life hidden within. This duality reminds us that God often works through small beginnings. In Genesis 15:5, Abram is asked to look at the stars and see his future descendants. The promise relies on this concept of potential energy: a tiny seed holds the entire forest.
For your faith, this offers comfort in seasons of waiting or uncertainty. Just as a farmer trusts the earth to yield harvest after planting, you can trust God’s promises even when results are not yet visible. The covenant established with Abraham shows that God values lineage and legacy. He commits to being a God to those who come after, linking past faithfulness with future hope.
This word bridges the physical and the spiritual. It speaks of biological life but also of moral character and divine purpose. Whether you are facing a barren season or a time of growth, remember that God specializes in bringing life from small, hidden sources. His plans unfold according to His timing, ensuring that what is sown in faith will eventually yield fruit.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 188 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- offspring/ your32×
- seed20×
- [the] offspring of17×
- offspring/ his9×
- offspring9×
- to/ offspring/ your8×
- and/ to/ offspring/ your8×
- seed/ your7×
- and/ offspring/ his6×
- offspring/ their5×
- spring4×
- the/ offspring3×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- זֶ֥רַע13×
- זֶ֣רַע10×
- זַרְעֲ/ךָ֖8×
- זֶ֖רַע7×
- זָ֑רַע6×
- זַרְעֲ/ךָ֙6×
- מִ/זֶּ֣רַע5×
- זָֽרַע\׃5×
- זַרְעֶ֑/ךָ5×
- זֶ֔רַע5×
- זַרְעֶ֔/ךָ4×
- זַרְע֑/וֹ4×
Key Verses
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Genesis 15:5
Yahweh brought him outside, and said, “Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “So your offspring will be.”
This verse uses the word to transform an abstract promise of descendants into a visual reality, linking the vastness of creation with personal lineage.
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Genesis 3:15
I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”
Here the term shifts from general progeny to a specific singular figure who will defeat evil, forming a foundational prophecy for Christian theology.
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Genesis 17:7
I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your offspring after you.
This occurrence highlights the enduring nature of God's covenant, extending His relationship not just to individuals but across multiple generations.
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Genesis 1:11
God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the earth;” and it was so.
The word appears in the creation narrative to establish the natural order and reproductive capacity that sustains all life on earth.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Hebrew word zera mean?
How is zera used in Genesis 3:15?
Why is zera important for understanding God's promises?
Every Occurrence (188 verses across 27 books)
Genesis 47 verses
God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their…
Genesis 1:12The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after…
Genesis 1:29God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree,…
Genesis 3:15I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head,…
Genesis 4:25Adam knew his wife again. She gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, saying, “for God has given me another child…
Genesis 7:3Also of the birds of the sky, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive on the surface of all the earth.
Genesis 8:22While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night will not…
Genesis 9:9“As for me, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after you,
Genesis 12:7Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” He built an altar there to Yahweh, who…
Genesis 13:15for I will give all the land which you see to you and to your offspring forever.
Genesis 13:16I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your…
Genesis 15:3Abram said, “Behold, you have given no children to me: and, behold, one born in my house is my heir.”
Genesis 15:5Yahweh brought him outside, and said, “Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He…
Genesis 15:13He said to Abram, “Know for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will…
Genesis 15:18In that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I have given this land to your offspring, from the river of…
Genesis 16:10Yahweh’s angel said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, that they will not be counted for multitude.”
Genesis 17:7I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an…
Genesis 17:8I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are traveling, all the land of Canaan, for an…
Genesis 17:9God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their…
Genesis 17:10This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you. Every male among you shall…
Genesis 17:12He who is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations, he who is born in the…
Genesis 17:19God said, “No, but Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son. You shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant…
Genesis 19:32Come, let’s make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve our father’s family line.”
Genesis 19:34It came to pass on the next day, that the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father.…
Genesis 21:12God said to Abraham, “Don’t let it be grievous in your sight because of the boy, and because of your servant. In all…
Genesis 21:13I will also make a nation of the son of the servant, because he is your child.”
Genesis 22:17that I will bless you greatly, and I will multiply your offspring greatly like the stars of the heavens, and like the…
Genesis 22:18All the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring, because you have obeyed my voice.’”
Genesis 24:7Yahweh, the God of heaven—who took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my birth, who spoke to me, and who…
Genesis 24:60They blessed Rebekah, and said to her, “Our sister, may you be the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and let your…
Genesis 26:3Live in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you. For I will give to you, and to your offspring, all these…
Genesis 26:4I will multiply your offspring as the stars of the sky, and will give all these lands to your offspring. In your…
Genesis 26:24Yahweh appeared to him the same night, and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Don’t be afraid, for I am with…
Genesis 28:4and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, that you may inherit the land where you…
Genesis 28:13Behold, Yahweh stood above it, and said, “I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. I will…
Genesis 28:14Your offspring will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the…
Genesis 35:12The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, and to your offspring after you I will give the…
Genesis 38:8Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her, and raise up…
Genesis 38:9Onan knew that the offspring wouldn’t be his; and when he went in to his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the…
Genesis 46:6They took their livestock, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt—Jacob, and…
Genesis 46:7his sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and he brought all his offspring with…
Genesis 47:19Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be…
Genesis 47:23Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh. Behold, here is seed for…
Genesis 47:24It will happen at the harvests, that you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four parts will be your own, for seed of…
Genesis 48:4and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful, and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples, and…
Genesis 48:11Israel said to Joseph, “I didn’t think I would see your face, and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.”
Genesis 48:19His father refused, and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will be great.…