What does זָרָה (zārāh) mean in the Bible?
This Hebrew verb can describe scattering or winnowing, with the object and agent determining what is happening. Ruth 3:2 names Boaz's ordinary work of winnowing barley.
Hebrew · H2219
זָרָה
To toss about; by implication, to diffuse , winnow
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זָרָהH2219
Pronunciationzārāh
What does זָרָה (zārāh) mean in the Bible?
This Hebrew verb can describe scattering or winnowing, with the object and agent determining what is happening. Ruth 3:2 names Boaz's ordinary work of winnowing barley.
Reader summary
Full entry for זָרָה (H2219) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H2219?
The BSB source-word alignment has 39 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include and scatter (4), and scatter them (3), I will scatter (3), and disperse (1), and He will scatter them (1).
Where does זָרָה (zārāh) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Exodus 32:20. Its strongest book concentrations include Ezekiel (13), Jeremiah (6), Proverbs (4), Isaiah (3).
What This Word Actually Means
This Hebrew verb can describe scattering or winnowing, with the object and agent determining what is happening. Ruth 3:2 names Boaz's ordinary work of winnowing barley. Isaiah 41:15-16 uses threshing and winnowing imagery in a promise of the Lord's help to Israel, while Proverbs 20:26 applies the threshing picture to a wise king's dealing with the wicked. A shared agricultural image does not make every scene an instruction for an audience to imitate.
Scattering people appears in the covenant warning of Leviticus 26:33 and in Jeremiah 31:10, where the One who scattered Israel promises to gather and keep them. Psalm 139:3 uses the verb within the confession that God searches out the speaker's path and lying down. That setting calls for attention to God's thorough knowledge rather than a literal picture of tossing someone into the air. Read the verb with its actual object: grain, people and a person's ways are not interchangeable. Its range also prevents a teacher from declaring every experience of displacement a divine verdict against those who suffer it.
source_lexiconPassage contextCanonical parallelPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
Winnowed barley, royal judgment imagery, covenant scattering, promised gathering and God's knowledge of a person's ways display a range whose agents and objects must remain distinct.
- Ruth.3.2
Now is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been working, a relative of ours? In fact, tonight he is winnowing barley on the threshing floor.
Naomi identifies Boaz's winnowing of barley as the evening's setting. The agricultural work locates the conversation without making Boaz's handling of grain a hidden judgment against other people.
- Isa.41.16
You will winnow them, and a wind will carry them away; a gale will scatter them. But you will rejoice in the Lord; you will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
The winnowing follows a promise that the Lord will help Israel and make her like a threshing sledge. The promised outcome is rejoicing in the Holy One, not a general commission for readers to attack opponents.
- Prov.20.26
A wise king separates out the wicked and drives the threshing wheel over them.
The proverb portrays a wise king's dealing with the wicked through forceful threshing imagery. Royal responsibility and the image's severity should be explained without turning the verse into permission for private violence.
- Lev.26.33
But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.
Scattering among nations is part of the stated covenant warnings addressed to Israel. The wider chapter also speaks of confession and God's remembrance of His covenant, so this warning should retain its identified setting.
- Jer.31.10
Hear, O nations, the word of the Lord, and proclaim it in distant coastlands: “The One who scattered Israel will gather them and keep them as a shepherd keeps his flock.
The One who scattered Israel will gather and guard them like a shepherd. The same named people remain the recipients of the promised gathering, which the following verse associates with redemption.
- Ps.139.3
You search out my path and my lying down; You are aware of all my ways.
The BSB renders the action as searching out the speaker's path and lying down. God's knowledge of all his ways supplies the immediate sense, rather than physical dispersion.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itand scatter4×Ezekiel 5:10, Ezekiel 6:5, Ezekiel 12:15, Ezekiel 30:26
and scatter them3×Psalms 106:27, Ezekiel 29:12, Ezekiel 30:23
I will scatter3×Leviticus 26:33, Jeremiah 49:32, Ezekiel 5:12
and disperse1×Ezekiel 20:23
and He will scatter them1×1 Kings 14:15
And I will scatter1×Ezekiel 12:14
and I will scatter them1×Jeremiah 49:36
and I will spread1×Malachi 2:3
and scatter you1×Ezekiel 22:15
and scattered [the powder]1×Exodus 32:20
and they were scattered1×Ezekiel 36:19
and you are to scatter1×Ezekiel 5:2
have scattered1×Zechariah 1:19
I will scatter them1×Jeremiah 15:7
is winnowing1×Ruth 3:2
rains down1×Job 18:15
scattered1×Zechariah 1:21
separates out1×Proverbs 20:26
sifts out1×Proverbs 20:8
spread1×Proverbs 15:7
The One who scattered1×Jeremiah 31:10
to scatter1×Numbers 16:37
to scatter it1×Zechariah 1:21
to spread1×Proverbs 1:17
to winnow1×Jeremiah 4:11
to winnow her1×Jeremiah 51:2
when you are scattered1×Ezekiel 6:8
winnowed1×Isaiah 30:24
You have scattered us1×Psalms 44:11
You search out1×Psalms 139:3
You will throw them away1×Isaiah 30:22
You will winnow them1×Isaiah 41:16
Show sample aligned rows
Exodus 32:20וַיִּ֙זֶר֙toand scattered [the powder]Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularLeviticus 26:33אֱזָרֶ֣הtoI will scatterVerb - Piel - Imperfect - first person common singularNumbers 16:37זְרֵה־toto scatterVerb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singularRuth 3:2זֹרֶ֛הtois winnowingVerb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular1 Kings 14:15וְזֵרָ֖םtoand He will scatter themConjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine pluralJob 18:15יְזֹרֶ֖הtorains downVerb - Pual - Imperfect - third person masculine singularPsalms 44:11זֵרִיתָֽנוּ׃toYou have scattered usVerb - Piel - Perfect - second person masculine singular | first person common pluralPsalms 106:27וּ֝לְזָרוֹתָ֗םtoand scatter themConjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct | third person masculine pluralPsalms 139:3זֵרִ֑יתָtoYou search outVerb - Piel - Perfect - second person masculine singularProverbs 1:17מְזֹרָ֣הtoto spreadVerb - Pual - Participle - feminine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowExodus 32:20
Aligned rows39
Books represented13
Exodus1Leviticus1Numbers1Ruth11 Kings1Job1Psalms3Proverbs4Isaiah3Jeremiah6Ezekiel13Zechariah3Malachi1
Source forms
וְזֵרִיתִ֥י3xwə·zê·rî·ṯîEzekiel 5:10, Ezekiel 12:15, Ezekiel 30:26
אֱזָרֶ֣ה2x’ĕ·zā·rehLeviticus 26:33, Ezekiel 12:14
תִּזְרֵם֙2xtiz·rêmIsaiah 30:22, Isaiah 41:16
אֱזָרֶ֔ה1x’ĕ·zā·rehEzekiel 5:12
בְּהִזָּרֽוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם1xbə·hiz·zā·rō·w·ṯê·ḵemEzekiel 6:8
וָאֶזְרֵ֥ם1xwā·’ez·rêmJeremiah 15:7
וְזֵר֔וּהָ1xwə·zê·rū·hāJeremiah 51:2
וְזֵרִיתִי֙1xwə·zê·rî·ṯîEzekiel 6:5
Parsing patterns
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular5xEzekiel 5:10, Ezekiel 6:5, Ezekiel 12:15, Ezekiel 30:26
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular | third person masculine plural4xJeremiah 49:32, Jeremiah 49:36, Ezekiel 29:12, Ezekiel 30:23
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - first person common singular3xLeviticus 26:33, Ezekiel 5:12, Ezekiel 12:14
Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine singular2xProverbs 20:8, Proverbs 20:26
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person common plural2xZechariah 1:19, Zechariah 1:21
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular | third person masculine plural2xIsaiah 30:22, Isaiah 41:16
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular2xRuth 3:2, Isaiah 30:24
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural1xEzekiel 36:19
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Receive accounts of displacement with compassion rather than assigning an unseen reason for someone's suffering.
- Keep pastoral care accountable to the good Shepherd's self-giving character instead of claims to decide who is expendable.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that every displacement fulfills the particular covenant judgment described in Leviticus.
- Do not claim that a leader may identify disliked people as chaff and mistreat them in God's name.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Motion of dispersal through force or wind; literal winnowing extends to theological scattering of covenant people.
Strong'sH2219
Lexical occurrences39 versesWord forms3 forms16 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkJeremiah 15:5-9Source Gloss
to toss about; by implication, to diffuse , winnow
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Motion of dispersal through force or wind; literal winnowing extends to theological scattering of covenant people.
to toss about; by implication, to diffuse, winnow BDB: scatter Usage: cast away, compass, disperse, fan, scatter (away), spread, strew, winnow.
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups3Aligned forms16
Pielintensive active — emphasizes thoroughness or repeated action10×
ImperfectEzek 5:12 · Ezek 12:14 · Lev 26:33 · Prov 15:74×
Participle activeJer 31:10 · Prov 20:8 · Prov 20:263×
PerfectZech 2:2 · Zech 2:4 · Ps 139:33×
Qalbasic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense4×
Participle activeIsa 30:24 · Ruth 3:22×
ImperfectEzek 5:21×
Sequential imperfectNum 17:21×
Pualintensive passive — intensive action received by the subject2×
ImperfectJob 18:151×
Participle passiveProv 1:171×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Dispersion of people as divine judgment, scattering inhabitants abroad
Winnowing or dispersing enemies before judgment, separating chaff from grain
Generous distribution of goods and wealth, spreading abundance to others
Spreading or diffusing knowledge and words, disseminating wisdom broadly
Winnowing or separating the wicked from the righteous through judgment
Showing 5 selected witnesses from 39 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Jeremiah 31:10 asks the nations to hear and proclaim a promise concerning Israel. Scattering is named, but the sentence moves toward gathering and shepherdlike protection. The following verse speaks of the Lord ransoming Jacob from a stronger hand. The text's movement gives judgment its weight while refusing to make dispersion the final word about the people God names.
Other usages need their own explanations. Boaz is winnowing barley in Ruth, the proverb concerns royal judgment, and Psalm 139 confesses God's searching knowledge. They do not combine into a rule by which a leader may label inconvenient people chaff and drive them away. Christian application can remember the good Shepherd who lays down His life in John 10, but that thematic comparison should preserve Jeremiah's stated recipients and the difference between divine action and human claims to control another person's future.
Anchor passage
Jer.31.10
Doctrinal connections
- Jeremiah 31:8-11 names Israel and Jacob within a promise of gathering, shepherdlike protection and redemption.
- Leviticus 26:33 gives a covenant warning, while verses 40-42 speak of confession and God's covenant remembrance.
- Ruth 3:2 locates Boaz in ordinary agricultural work within the developing story of Ruth and Naomi.
- Isaiah 41:14-17 connects the threshing image with the Lord's help and care for the poor and needy.
- Psalm 139:1-4 confesses God's detailed knowledge of the speaker's ways and words.
- John 10:11-13 identifies Jesus as the good Shepherd who gives His life rather than abandoning the flock.
Scattering and winnowing provide concrete senses, while Psalm 139:3 uses the verb in a context of searching knowledge. The BSB's different English renderings are cues to examine the sentence, not reasons to force one vivid picture into every setting.
From Old to New Testament
Matthew 3:11-12 uses winnowing imagery for the coming One's judgment, and John 10:11-13 contrasts the good Shepherd's self-giving care with abandonment of a threatened flock. These are thematic canonical comparisons. They neither erase Israel from Jeremiah's promise nor authorize a modern teacher to carry out divine judgment.
Passage contextCanonical parallelPastoral application