Lexical Summary perudah: Division, separation Original Word: פְרֻדָה Strong's Exhaustive Concordance seed Feminine passive participle of parad; something separated, i.e. A kernel -- seed. see HEBREW parad NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom parad Definition grain NASB Translation seeds (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [מְּרֻדָה] noun feminine grain of seed (?) (properly, si vera lectio, the separated; compare Syriac  ,  , Talmud מְּרִידָא, pebble, berry); — only plural מְּרֻדוֺת Joel 1:17. Topical Lexicon Agricultural SettingIn the grain-based economy of ancient Israel, every stage of the harvest cycle—plowing, sowing, sprouting, storing—was a visible reminder of divine blessing or judgment. The noun פְרֻדָה appears in this agricultural arena, referring to seed grain lying in the soil. Its single biblical occurrence allows us to set the term within a picture familiar to every farmer in Judah: the delicate moment when seed must imbibe moisture, swell, and burst into life. If that first step fails, the whole growing season is lost. Occurrence in Joel 1:17 Joel 1:17 laments, “The seeds lie shriveled beneath the clods; the storehouses are in ruins, and the granaries are broken down, for the grain has withered away.” The word translated “seeds” is פְרֻדָה. Here the prophet describes a compound catastrophe—locust invasion and drought—so severe that even seed held in reserve has withered in the ground. The shriveled פְרֻדָה under hard clods signals utter agricultural collapse. Theological Weight of the Image 1. Covenant Warnings Realized Moses had warned that disobedience would lead to “the sky over your head shall be bronze and the earth beneath you iron” (Deuteronomy 28:23). Joel’s picture of lifeless seed under unyielding soil shows the curses activated. פְרֻדָה is thus a silent witness that Yahweh keeps covenant both in blessing and in chastisement. 2. Human Powerlessness Farmers can till, sow, and pray, but no human hand can force a dead seed to swell. The shriveled grain embodies Israel’s inability to reverse divine judgment by mere effort, driving the people to fasting, mourning, and cries for mercy (Joel 1:13-14). 3. Spiritual Parallels The term derives from a root associated with separation. As the grain is “separated” from life-giving moisture, so sin separates the nation from God’s favor (Isaiah 59:2). The petrified seed becomes a parable of hearts that will not receive the rain of truth (Zechariah 7:11-12). Prophetic and Eschatological Dimensions Joel quickly transitions from agricultural ruin to the universal “Day of the Lord” (Joel 2:1). The failed פְרֻדָה is a microcosm of final judgment: what refuses the divine life shrivels forever. Yet the same prophecy promises reversal: “The threshing floors will be full of grain” (Joel 2:24). The shriveled seed paves the way for God’s pledge of abundant restoration, anticipating both post-exilic blessing and the ultimate regeneration in Messiah’s kingdom. Ministry Applications • Call to Repentance: When preaching Joel, the image of פְרֻדָה presses hearers to examine “hard clods” of unconfessed sin that choke spiritual vitality. Summary Though פְרֻדָה surfaces only once, its shriveled form in Joel 1:17 powerfully conveys covenant discipline, human helplessness, and the necessity of repentance. It prepares the soil for the magnificent promise of renewed grain and Spirit outpouring, reminding every generation that life springs only where God’s rain and word are welcomed. Forms and Transliterations פְרֻד֗וֹת פרדות feruDot p̄ə·ru·ḏō·wṯ p̄əruḏōwṯLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Joel 1:17 HEB: עָבְשׁ֣וּ פְרֻד֗וֹת תַּ֚חַת מֶגְרְפֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔ם NAS: The seeds shrivel under KJV: The seed is rotten under their clods, INT: shrivel the seeds under their clods 1 Occurrence |
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