# זרע
## Aramaic
### Verb

זְרַע • (zəraʿ)
* to sow, to seed, to plant

## Hebrew
### Etymology

From Proto-Semitic *zarʕ- (“seed”). Cognate with Akkadian 𒆰 (zērum, “seed”), Arabic زَرَعَ (zaraʕa, “to sow”), زَرْع (zarʕ, “seed”), and Aramaic זְרַע (zəraʿ, “to sow”), זַרְעָא (zarʿā, “seed”).

### Pronunciation 1

* (Biblical Hebrew) IPA: /zaˈraʕ/
* (Samaritan Hebrew) IPA: /zɒ.rɒ/, [ˈzɒː.rɒˑ]
* (Tiberian Hebrew) IPA: /zɔːˈraʕ/, [zɔˑˈʀaː.aʕ]
* (Yemenite Hebrew) IPA: /zɔˈraʕ/, [zɔːˈræːʕ]
* (Ashkenazi Hebrew) IPA: /zɔˈʁ̞a/
* (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA: /zaˈʁa/

#### Verb

זָרַע • (zará') (pa'al construction)
* to seed, to sow
** Tanach, Psalms 126:5, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:הַזֹּרְעִים בְּדִמְעָה בְּרִנָּה יִקְצֹרוּ׃hazor'ím b'dim'á b'riná yiktsóru. hazzōrəʿīm bəḏimʿā bərinnā yiqṣṓrū.They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
* to spread, to disseminate

##### Conjugation
### Pronunciation 2

* (Biblical Hebrew) IPA: /zarʕ/
* (Samaritan Hebrew) IPA: /ze.ra/, [ˈzeː.ræˑ]
* (Tiberian Hebrew) IPA: /ˈzɛ.raʕ/, [ˈzɛː.ʀaʕ]
* (Yemenite Hebrew) IPA: /ˈza.raʕ/, [ˈzæː.ræʕ]
* (Ashkenazi Hebrew) IPA: /ˈzɛ.ʁ̞a/
* (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA: /ˈze.ʁa/
* Audio:(file)

#### Noun

זֶרַע • (zéra') m (plural indefinite זְרָעִים) [pattern: קֶטֶל]
* seed
* (Biblical Hebrew) seedtime
** Tanach, Genesis 8:22, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:עֹד כָּל־יְמֵי הָאָרֶץ זֶרַע וְקָצִיר וְקֹר וָחֹם וְקַיִץ וָחֹרֶף וְיוֹם וָלַיְלָה לֹא יִשְׁבֹּֽתוּ׃While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
* semen
    Synonym: נוֹזֵל זֶרַע
** Mishneh Torah, Laws of Other Sources of Defilement 5:17
    שכבת זַרְעוֹ של עכו״ם טהור
** Tanach, Leviticus 15:16:וְאִישׁ כִּי תֵצֵא מִמֶּנּוּ שִׁכְבַת זָרַע וְרָחַץ בַּמַּיִם אֶת כָּל בְּשָׂרוֹ וְטָמֵא עַד הָעָרֶב׃v'ísh ki tetsé miménu shikhvát zará' v'rakháts bamáyim et kól b'saró v'tamé ád ha'árev.When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
* offspring, descendants, scions
** Tanach, Genesis 22:17, with translation of the New International Version:כִּי בָרֵךְ אֲבָרֶכְךָ וְהַרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה אֶת זַרְעֲךָ כְּכוֹכְבֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם וְכַחוֹל אֲשֶׁר עַל שְׂפַת הַיָּם וְיִרַשׁ זַרְעֲךָ אֵת שַׁעַר אֹיְבָיו׃I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,
** Tanach, Ezra 9:2:כִּי־נָשְׂאוּ מִבְּנֹתֵיהֶם לָהֶם וְלִבְנֵיהֶם וְהִתְעָרְבוּ זֶרַע הַקֹּדֶשׁki-nas'ú mib'notéihem lahém v'lib'néihem v'hit'arvú zéra' hakódesh.For they have taken their daughters for themselves and for their sons and they have mingled the holy race.

##### Declension

| Number | Isolated forms | Isolated forms | With possessive pronouns | With possessive pronouns | With possessive pronouns | With possessive pronouns | With possessive pronouns |
| Number | State | Form | Person | singular | singular | plural | plural |
| Number | State | Form | Person | m. | f. | m. | f. |
| singular | indefinite | זֶרַע | first | זַרְעִי | זַרְעִי | זַרְעֵנוּ | זַרְעֵנוּ |
| singular | definite | הַזֶּרַע | second | זַרְעֲךָ | זַרְעֵךְ | זַרְעֲכֶם | זַרְעֲכֶן |
| singular | construct | זֶרַע־ | third | זַרְעוֹ | זַרְעָהּ | זַרְעָם | זַרְעָן |
| plural | indefinite | זְרָעִים | first | זרעיי / זְרָעַי | זרעיי / זְרָעַי | זְרָעֵינוּ | זְרָעֵינוּ |
| plural | definite | הַזְּרָעִים | second | זְרָעֶיךָ | זרעייך / זְרָעַיִךְ | זַרְעֵיכֶם | זַרְעֵיכֶן |
| plural | construct | זַרְעֵי־ | third | זְרָעָיו | זְרָעֶיהָ | זַרְעֵיהֶם | זַרְעֵיהֶן |

##### Derived terms

* תָּא זֶרַע
* זֶרַע לְבַטָּלָה
* צינור הזרע / צִנּוֹר הַזֶּרַע (tsinór hazéra')
* שלפוחית זרע (shalpukhít zéra')

### References

* H2232 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
* H2233 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible

### Anagrams

* עזר