זָרָה
za.rah
to scatter
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Hebrew word "za.rah" (H2219) means to scatter or disperse. It is used 39 times in the Bible, indicating its importance and frequent occurrence in various contexts. This verb is classified under the semantic domain of Movement & Travel, suggesting its connection to action, displacement, and the consequences of such movements. In its range of usage, "za.rah" encompasses physical scattering, such as dispersing animals (e.g., Numbers 23:22-24) or people (e.g., Isaiah 17:13), as well as metaphorical scattering, like the dispersal of seeds (e.g., Psalm 1:3). This verb also implies a sense of randomness or lack of control, implying that the scattered elements are no longer together or contained. The significance of "za.rah" lies in its role in describing the consequences of various actions, such as God's judgment or the actions of individuals. By examining the contexts in which "za.rah" is used, we can gain insight into the dynamics of action, movement, and the impact of these on both individuals and groups.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
39 total occurrences across the text
There will dwell in his tent that which is none of his. Sulfur will be scattered on his habitation.
Psalms 44:11You have made us like sheep for food, and have scattered us among the nations.
Psalms 106:27that he would overthrow their offspring among the nations, and scatter them in the lands.
Psalms 139:3You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
Proverbs 1:17For the net is spread in vain in the sight of any bird;
Proverbs 15:7The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so with the heart of fools.
Proverbs 20:8A king who sits on the throne of judgment scatters away all evil with his eyes.
Proverbs 20:26A wise king winnows out the wicked, and drives the threshing wheel over them.
Isaiah 30:22You shall defile the overlaying of your engraved images of silver, and the plating of your molten images of gold. You shall cast them away as an unclean thing. You shall tell it, “Go away!”
Isaiah 30:24The oxen likewise and the young donkeys that till the ground will eat savory feed, which has been winnowed with the shovel and with the fork.
Isaiah 41:16You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, and the whirlwind will scatter them. You will rejoice in Yahweh. You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
Jeremiah 4:11At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A hot wind from the bare heights in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow, nor to cleanse;
Jeremiah 15:7I have winnowed them with a fan in the gates of the land. I have bereaved them of children. I have destroyed my people. They didn’t return from their ways.
Jeremiah 31:10“Hear Yahweh’s word, you nations, and declare it in the distant islands. Say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd does his flock.’
Jeremiah 49:32Their camels will be a booty, and the multitude of their livestock a plunder. I will scatter to all winds those who have the corners of their beards cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them,” says Yahweh.
Jeremiah 49:36I will bring on Elam the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will scatter them toward all those winds. There will be no nation where the outcasts of Elam will not come.
Jeremiah 51:2I will send to Babylon strangers, who will winnow her. They will empty her land; for in the day of trouble they will be against her all around.
Ezekiel 12:14I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him to help him, and all his bands. I will draw out the sword after them.
Ezekiel 5:2A third part you shall burn in the fire in the middle of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled. You shall take a third part, and strike with the sword around it. A third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will draw out a sword after them.
Ezekiel 5:12A third part of you will die with the pestilence, and they will be consumed with famine within you. A third part will fall by the sword around you. A third part I will scatter to all the winds, and will draw out a sword after them.
Ezekiel 6:5I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols. I will scatter your bones around your altars.
Ezekiel 6:8“ ‘ “Yet I will leave a remnant, in that you will have some that escape the sword among the nations, when you are scattered through the countries.
Ezekiel 12:15“ ‘They will know that I am Yahweh when I disperse them among the nations, and scatter them through the countries.
Ezekiel 20:23Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the nations, and disperse them through the countries;
Ezekiel 22:15I will scatter you among the nations, and disperse you through the countries. I will consume your filthiness out of you.
Ezekiel 29:12I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the middle of the countries that are desolate. Her cities among the cities that are laid waste will be a desolation forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.”
Ezekiel 30:23I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.
Ezekiel 30:26I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.’ ”
Ezekiel 36:19I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. I judged them according to their way and according to their deeds.
Zechariah 1:19I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” He answered me, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
Zechariah 1:21Then I asked, “What are these coming to do?” He said, “These are the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man lifted up his head; but these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations, which lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”
Zechariah 1:21Then I asked, “What are these coming to do?” He said, “These are the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man lifted up his head; but these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations, which lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”
Malachi 2:3Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and will spread dung on your faces, even the dung of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it.
Ezekiel 5:10Therefore the fathers will eat the sons within you, and the sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments on you; and I will scatter the whole remnant of you to all the winds.
Exodus 32:20He took the calf which they had made, and burned it with fire, ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water, and made the children of Israel drink it.
Leviticus 26:33I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you. Your land will be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.
Numbers 16:37“Speak to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter the fire away from the camp; for they are holy,
Ruth 3:2Now isn’t Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens you were? Behold, he will be winnowing barley tonight on the threshing floor.
1 Kings 14:15For Yahweh will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and he will root up Israel out of this good land which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River, because they have made their Asherah poles, provoking Yahweh to anger.