Lexical Summary sperma: Seed, offspring, descendants, posterity Original Word: σπέρμα Strong's Exhaustive Concordance seed, offspringFrom speiro; something sown, i.e. Seed (including the male "sperm"); by implication, offspring; specially, a remnant (figuratively, as if kept over for planting) -- issue, seed. see GREEK speiro NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom speiró Definition that which is sown, i.e. seed NASB Translation children (7), conceive* (1), descendant (4), descendants (16), posterity (1), seed (10), seeds (4). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 4690: σπέρμασπέρμα, σπέρματος, τό (σπείρω, which see), from Homer down, Hebrew זֶרַע , the seed (from which anything springs); a. from which a plant germinates; α. properly, the seed i. e. the grain or kernel which contains within itself the germ of the future plant: plural, Matthew 13:32; Mark 4:31; 1 Corinthians 15:38 (Exodus 16:31; 1 Samuel 8:15); the singular is used collectively of the grains or kernels sown: Matthew 13:24, 27, 37; 2 Corinthians 9:10 (here L Tr σπόρος). β. metaphorically, a seed i. e. a residue. or a few survivors reserved as the germ of a new race (just as seed is kept from the harvest for the sowing), Romans 9:29 after Isaiah 1:9, where the Sept. for שַׂרִיד (so also Wis. 14:6; 1 Esdr. 8:85 (87); Josephus, Antiquities 11, 5, 3; 12, 7, 8; Plato, Tim., p. 23{c}). b. the semen virile; α. properly: Leviticus 15:16-18; Leviticus 18:20f, etc.; (probably also Hebrews 11:11, cf. καταβολή 1, and see below); often in secular writings. By metonymy the product of this semen, seed, children, offspring, progeny; family, race, posterity (so in Greek chiefly in the tragic poets, cf. Passow, under the word, 2 b. ii., p. 1498 (Liddell and Scott, under the word, II. 3); and זֶרַע very often in the O. T. (cf. Winer's Grammar, 17, 30)); so in the singular, either of one, or collectively of many: Romans 9:7f; εἰς καταβολήν σπέρματος (see (above, and) καταβολή, 2) Hebrews 11:11; ἀνισταναι and ἐξανισταναι σπέρμα τίνι, Matthew 22:24; Mark 12:19; Luke 20:28 (Genesis 38:8); ἔχειν σπέρμα, Matthew 22:25; ἀφιέναι σπέρμα τίνι, Mark 12:20-22; τό σπέρμα τίνος, Luke 1:55; John 7:42; John 8:33, 37; Acts 3:25; Acts 7:5; Acts 13:23; Romans 1:3; ( When Jesus teaches about the kingdom, He repeatedly chooses σπέρμα to illustrate both the power and the hiddenness of God’s reign. In Matthew 13 the word occurs five times. The “good seed” represents “the sons of the kingdom” (Matthew 13:38), sown by the Son of Man into the field of the world; counterfeit seed, “the sons of the evil one,” is sown by the devil. The mustard seed (Matthew 13:32; Mark 4:31) stresses disproportionate growth: from the smallest of agricultural seeds to a tree that shelters birds, a picture of expansive, unexpected kingdom advance. These parables set the pattern for apostolic ministry: patient sowing, confident of a divinely guaranteed harvest despite present obscurity. Abrahamic Promise: Physical and Spiritual Seed σπέρμα is central to Paul’s exposition of Genesis. Quoting Genesis 15:5, Paul writes, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed, and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be’” (Romans 4:18). Scripture upholds the biological line—“Nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants” (Romans 9:7)—yet insists that true heirs are defined by faith: “It is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise” (Romans 9:8). Hebrews echoes the same covenant logic: “From one man, and he as good as dead, descendants were born as innumerable as the stars of heaven” (Hebrews 11:12). Davidic Lineage and Messianic Fulfillment σπέρμα marks the covenant thread that reaches from Abraham to David and on to Jesus. The crowds ask, “Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from David’s offspring?” (John 7:42). Apostolic preaching answers decisively: “From the descendants of this man, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as He promised” (Acts 13:23). Paul begins Romans grounding the gospel “concerning His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3) and exhorts Timothy, “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David” (2 Timothy 2:8). The historicity of the incarnation depends on this unbroken genealogical σπέρμα. The Singular Seed: Christ as the Ultimate Heir Galatians 3:16 draws attention to the deliberate singular in Genesis: “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his Seed. Scripture does not say, ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your Seed,’ meaning Christ.” By inspiration, Paul identifies Jesus as the climactic fulfillment of every Abrahamic promise. Yet in the same chapter believers are included: “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29). Union with the one Seed creates a multiethnic family without nullifying the literal reading of Genesis. Believers as the Regenerate Seed John states, “No one born of God keeps on sinning, because His seed remains in him” (1 John 3:9). Here σπέρμα refers to the imperishable life of God implanted by the Spirit, guaranteeing a transformed ethic. Peter uses different vocabulary but the same thought, calling the Word the imperishable seed by which believers are born anew (1 Peter 1:23). Together these texts anchor sanctification in new creation life, not in mere moral resolve. Israel According to the Flesh: Ethnic Identity and Remnant Paul can still call himself part of “the seed of Abraham” (2 Corinthians 11:22) and affirms in Romans 11:1 that God has not rejected “the seed of Abraham” despite widespread unbelief. Isaiah’s remnant theology is cited: “If the Lord of Hosts had not left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom” (Romans 9:29). Hence ethnic Israel retains covenant significance while salvation remains by grace through faith. The Seed and Evangelism: Sowing the Word The disciples are instructed, “The seed is the word of God” (implicit in the Synoptic parallels, explicit in Luke 8:11). Apostolic mission imitates the Sower: broadcasting Scripture, trusting the Spirit to prepare hearts. Paul’s body-language of agriculture—“I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6)—flows from Jesus’ seed theology. Ministry success is measured not by immediate results but by final harvest. Eschatological Warfare and the Persevering Seed Revelation 12:17 depicts the dragon enraged with the woman, going off “to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” The remnant σπέρμα faces persecution yet overcomes “by the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11). This final conflict fulfills the primordial promise of Genesis 3:15: enmity between the serpent’s seed and the woman’s Seed, culminating in Christ’s victory and the perseverance of His people. Pastoral and Practical Considerations 1. Assurance: The abiding σπέρμα of God secures believers against apostasy (1 John 3:9). Thus σπέρμα threads through Scripture from creation to consummation, securing the historical line of redemption, defining the people of God, and framing the church’s mandate to scatter the imperishable Word until the harvest is gathered. Englishman's Concordance Matthew 13:24 N-ANSGRK: σπείραντι καλὸν σπέρμα ἐν τῷ NAS: who sowed good seed in his field. KJV: which sowed good seed in his INT: having sown good seed in the Matthew 13:27 N-ANS Matthew 13:32 N-GNP Matthew 13:37 N-ANS Matthew 13:38 N-NNS Matthew 22:24 N-ANS Matthew 22:25 N-ANS Mark 4:31 N-GNP Mark 12:19 N-ANS Mark 12:20 N-ANS Mark 12:21 N-ANS Mark 12:22 N-ANS Luke 1:55 N-DNS Luke 20:28 N-ANS John 7:42 N-GNS John 8:33 N-NNS John 8:37 N-NNS Acts 3:25 N-DNS Acts 7:5 N-DNS Acts 7:6 N-NNS Acts 13:23 N-GNS Romans 1:3 N-GNS Romans 4:13 N-DNS Romans 4:16 N-DNS Romans 4:18 N-NNS Strong's Greek 4690 |
    |