Concept
ChristologySeed
One word that carries the whole promise: a line of descent that narrows, verse by verse, to one Person.
#promise#word-study
- 29passages
- 122original words
- 1approved connection
- 240cross-references
- 1thread through it
The words behind it
Hebrew and Greek standing in the 18 passages listed below, not a lexicon of "seed" itself. The number on each word is how often it occurs in those passages; the connecting words the languages use everywhere are set aside so the words that carry meaning can be seen.
Hebrew115
105 more hebrew words ▾
The passages
The first 18 of 29 passages this site attaches to the concept, in canon order. Each row says where it came from.
Old Testament17
- Genesis 1:11topical floor
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each bearing fruit with seed according to its kind.” And it was so.
Commentary on Genesis 1:111 voice
After the earth, rid of the weight of the water, had rested, the command had come to it to bring forth first the herbs, then the trees. And this we see still happening even at the present time. For the voice that was then heard and the first command became, as it were, a law of nature and remained in the earth, giving it the power to produce and bear fruit for all succeeding time.
Basil of Caesarea· HEXAEMERON 5.1, 379Patristic
- Genesis 1:12topical floor
The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
Commentary on Genesis 1:121 voice
The adornment of the earth is older than the sun, that those who have been misled may cease worshiping the sun as the origin of life.
Basil of Caesarea· HEXAEMERON 5.1, 379Patristic
- Genesis 1:29topical floor
Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food.
Commentary on Genesis 1:291 voice
The historical meaning, at least, of this sentence indicates clearly that originally God permitted the use of foods from vegetation, that is, vegetables and the fruits of trees. But the opportunity of eating flesh is given to men later when a covenant was made with Noah after the flood.
Origen of Alexandria· HOMILIES ON GENESIS 1.17, 253Patristic
- Genesis 3:15listed key text
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”(opening verse of the passage)
Commentary on Genesis 3:152 voices
He has therefore, in His work of recapitulation, summed up all things, both waging war against our enemy, and crushing him who had at the beginning led us away captives in Adam, and trampled upon his head, as thou canst perceive in Genesis that God said to the serpent, "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; He shall be on the watch for thy head, and thou on the watch for His heel."
Irenaeus· Against Heresies 5.21.1, 202Patristic
I will put enmity between thee and the woman - This has been generally supposed to apply to a certain enmity subsisting between men and serpents; but this is rather a fancy than a reality. It is yet to be discovered that the serpentine race have any peculiar enmity against mankind, nor is there any proof that men hate serpents more than they do other noxious animals.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832Evangelical
- Genesis 4:25thread stop
And Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another seed in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”
Commentary on Genesis 4:252 voices
(Verse 25) And he called his name Seth. For God has provided me another offspring in place of Abel, whom Cain killed. Seth, properly θέσις, that is, position, is called because God had set him in place of Abel. Finally, Aquila says: And he called his name Seth, saying: For God has placed another offspring for me.
Jerome· Hebrew Questions on Genesis, 420Patristic
And Adam knew his wife again,.... The Targum of Jonathan adds, at the end of a hundred and thirty years after Abel was killed, see Gen 5:3 but, according to Bishop Usher, Seth was born the same year, which is most probable.
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)Reformed
- Genesis 9:26thread stop
He also declared: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the servant of Shem.(opening verse of the passage)
- Genesis 12:3thread stop
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
Commentary on Genesis 12:32 voices
And I will bless them that bless thee,.... Not the priests only that should bless his children, the children of Israel, as the Targum of Jonathan, but all men of all nations, and of every age, that speak well of him, commend him for his faith and holiness, and tread in his steps, these are blessed with faithful Abraham, Gal 3:
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)Reformed
In thee - In thy posterity, in the Messiah, who shall spring from thee, shall all families of the earth be blessed; for as he shall take on him human nature from the posterity of Abraham, he shall taste death for every man, his Gospel shall be preached throughout the world, and innumerable blessings be derived on all mankind through his death and intercession.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832Evangelical
- Genesis 12:7listed key text
Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.(opening verse of the passage)
Commentary on Genesis 12:71 voice
The Lord appeared - In what way this appearance was made we know not; it was probably by the great angel of the covenant, Jesus the Christ. The appearance, whatsoever it was, perfectly satisfied Abram, and proved itself to be supernatural and Divine. It is worthy of remark that Abram is the first man to whom God is said to have shown himself or appeared: 1. In Ur of the Chaldees, Act 7:2; and 2. At the oak of Moreh, as in this verse.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832Evangelical
- Genesis 15:5thread stop
And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”(opening verse of the passage)
Commentary on Genesis 15:52 voices
What is the meaning then of the expression "he brought him outside"? The prophet is as it were led out, so that he goes outside of the body and sees the limitations imposed by the flesh that is his garment and the infusion of the Holy Spirit who makes a kind of visible descent. We too must exit from the confinement of this our temporary dwelling.
Ambrose of Milan· On Abraham, 397Patristic
Look now toward heaven - It appears that this whole transaction took place in the evening; see on Gen 13:14 (note). Abram had either two visions, that recorded in Gen 15:1, and that in Gen 15:12, etc.; or what is mentioned in the beginning of this chapter is a part of the occurrences which took place after the sacrifice mentioned Gen 15:9, etc.: but it is more likely that there was a vision of that kind already described, and afterwards a second, in which he received the revelation mentioned Gen 15:13-
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832Evangelical
- Genesis 22:18listed key text
And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”(opening verse of the passage)
Commentary on Genesis 22:181 voice
And in thy seed, etc. - We have the authority of St. Paul, Gal 3:8, Gal 3:16, Gal 3:18, to restrain this to our blessed Lord, who was The Seed through whom alone all God’s blessings of providence, mercy, grace, and glory, should be conveyed to the nations of the earth.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832Evangelical
- Genesis 49:10approved connection
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.
Commentary on Genesis 49:101 voice
until Shiloh come--Shiloh--this obscure word is variously interpreted to mean "the sent" (Joh 17:3), "the seed" (Isa 11:1), the "peaceable or prosperous one" (Eph 2:14) --that is, the Messiah (Isa 11:10;
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871Reformed
- Leviticus 19:19topical floor
You are to keep My statutes. You shall not crossbreed two different kinds of livestock; you shall not sow your fields with two kinds of seed; and you shall not wear clothing made of two kinds of material.
Commentary on Leviticus 19:191 voice
Linen and woolen - The original word is found only here and in Deu 22:11, where it is rendered “of divers sorts.” It may denote such tissues as linsey woolsey.
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)Evangelical
- Deuteronomy 22:9topical floor
Do not plant your vineyard with two types of seed; if you do, the entire harvest will be defiled—both the crop you plant and the fruit of your vineyard.
- 2 Samuel 7:12thread stop
And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.(opening verse of the passage)
Commentary on 2 Samuel 7:121 voice
However, the tribe of Judah did not fail until he came for whom it was reserved, who did not himself sit upon a material throne, for the kingdom of Judea had now been transferred to Herod, the son of Antipater, the Ascalonite, and to his sons, who divided Judea into four provinces when Pilate was governor and Tiberius held the power over the whole Roman province. But his indestructible kingdom he calls the throne of David on which the Lord sat. He himself is "the expectation of nations," not of the least part of the world.
Basil of Caesarea· LETTER 236, 379Patristic
- Ecclesiastes 11:6topical floor
Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 11:61 voice
In the morning sow thy seed - Be ready at all times to show mercy; begin in the morning, continue till the evening. Thou knowest not the most worthy object; it is enough that God knoweth; and if thy motive be good, he will applaud and reward thee; not according to the worthiness or unworthiness of the object of thy charity, but according to the motive which induced thee to relieve him.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832Evangelical
- Isaiah 7:14thread stop
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
Commentary on Isaiah 7:142 voices
Isaiah tells of the mystery of our faith and hope: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel." I know that the Jews are accustomed to meet us with the objection that in Hebrew the word almah does not mean a virgin but "a young woman." And, to speak truth, a virgin is properly called bethulah, but a young woman, or a girl, is not almah but naarah! What then is the meaning of almah?
Jerome· Against Jovinianus 1.32, 420Patristic
And when He says, "Hear, O house of David," [Isaiah 7:13] He performed the part of one indicating that He whom God promised David that He would raise up from the fruit of his belly (ventris) an eternal King, is the same who was born of the Virgin, herself of the lineage of David.
Irenaeus· Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 21), Section 5, 202Patristic
- Hosea 10:12topical floor
Sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of loving devotion; break up your unplowed ground. For it is time to seek the LORD until He comes and sends righteousness upon you like rain.
New Testament1
- Matthew 1:1thread stop
This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Commentary on Matthew 1:11 voice
The book of the generation - This is the proper title of the chapter. It is the same as to say, “the account of the ancestry or family, or the genealogical table of Jesus Christ.” The phrase is common in Jewish writings. Compare Gen 5:1. “This is the book of the generations of Adam,” i. e., the genealogical table of the family or descendants of Adam. See also Gen 6:9. The Jews, moreover, as we do, kept such tables of their own families. and it is probable that this was copied from the record of the family of Joseph.
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)Evangelical
Approved connections
1 link an editor approved, each with the reason it was kept.
- targum readingGenesis 49:10
Targum Onkelos: 'until the Messiah comes, whose is the kingdom' - even conservative Onkelos reads it messianically. Label reception
Targum Onkelos Gen 49:10 (PD)
Voices on these passages
Commentary matched to the verses above, each named with its source: the full pool sits on each verse page.
After the earth, rid of the weight of the water, had rested, the command had come to it to bring forth first the herbs, then the trees. And this we see still happening even at the present time. For the voice that was then heard and the first command became, as it were, a law of nature and remained in the earth, giving it the power to produce and bear fruit for all succeeding time.
Basil of Caesarea· HEXAEMERON 5.1Patristic
Genesis 1:11
The adornment of the earth is older than the sun, that those who have been misled may cease worshiping the sun as the origin of life.
Basil of Caesarea· HEXAEMERON 5.1Patristic
Genesis 1:12
The historical meaning, at least, of this sentence indicates clearly that originally God permitted the use of foods from vegetation, that is, vegetables and the fruits of trees. But the opportunity of eating flesh is given to men later when a covenant was made with Noah after the flood.
Origen of Alexandria· HOMILIES ON GENESIS 1.17Patristic
Genesis 1:29
Study it deeper
6 moves a student can make from here. Every one opens a tool on this site.
Trace one word to every place it stands
A word page lists every verse that word occurs in, with its definition and its range of meaning. Start with the roots that occur most under the passages above.
Walk out from the passages
The passages above carry 240 cross-references between them, links from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, the great 1830s reference work, together with the reader-voted index at OpenBible.info. The most-linked destinations:
Read it in both testaments
Set the earliest passage beside the New Testament one and ask what changed and what did not, the shape of seed before Christ and after him.
Read the whole chapter around it
A verse quoted alone can mean almost anything. Open Genesis 1 in the reader, where the Hebrew or Greek sits under every line.
See everywhere else it appears
The search page is a doorway: it returns verses, word studies, people, places and studies for one term at once.
Walk it stop by stop
A thread takes the passages in order and stops at each one with commentary, so the idea unfolds instead of arriving all at once.
Where this comes from
Hebrew זֶרַע (zera') and Greek σπέρμα both hold singular and collective at once: a nation, and one Man. The Bible uses the double edge on purpose.
Paul reads it as a point of grammar with a Person at the end of it: "He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ" (Galatians 3:16). The seed is also what dies to multiply (John 12:24), which is why the promise runs through a grave.