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The Blue Letter Bible

Lexicon :: Strong's G4690 - sperma

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σπέρμα
Transliteration
sperma (Key)
Pronunciation
sper'-mah
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Part of Speech
neuter noun
Root Word (Etymology)
Dictionary Aids

Vine's Expository Dictionary: View Entry

TDNT Reference: 7:536,1065

Strong’s Definitions

σπέρμα spérma, sper'-mah; from G4687; something sown, i.e. seed (including the male "sperm"); by implication, offspring; specially, a remnant (figuratively, as if kept over for planting):—issue, seed.


KJV Translation Count — Total: 44x

The KJV translates Strong's G4690 in the following manner: seed (43x), issue (1x).

KJV Translation Count — Total: 44x
The KJV translates Strong's G4690 in the following manner: seed (43x), issue (1x).
  1. from which a plant germinates

    1. the seed i.e. the grain or kernel which contains within itself the germ of the future plants

      1. of the grains or kernels sown

    2. metaph. a seed i.e. a residue, or a few survivors reserved as the germ of the next generation (just as seed is kept from the harvest for the sowing)

  2. the semen virile

    1. the product of this semen, seed, children, offspring, progeny

    2. family, tribe, posterity

    3. whatever possesses vital force or life giving power

      1. of divine energy of the Holy Spirit operating within the soul by which we are regenerated

Strong’s Definitions [?](Strong’s Definitions Legend)
σπέρμα spérma, sper'-mah; from G4687; something sown, i.e. seed (including the male "sperm"); by implication, offspring; specially, a remnant (figuratively, as if kept over for planting):—issue, seed.
STRONGS G4690:
σπέρμα, 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; (Romans 4:13); Rom. 9:7; 11:1; 2 Corinthians 11:22; 2 Timothy 2:8; Hebrews 2:16; Hebrews 11:18; in plural: παῖς ἐκ βαιλικων σπερμάτων, of royal descent, Josephus, Antiquities 8, 7, 6; τῶν Αβραμιαίων σπερμάτων ἀπόγονοι, 4 Macc. 18:1; equivalent to tribes, races, ἄνθρωποι τέ καί ἀνθρώπων σπερμασι νομοθετουμεν τά νῦν, Plato, legg. 9, p. 853 c. By a rabbinical method of interpreting, opposed to the usage of the Hebrew זֶרַע, which signifies the offspring whether consisting of one person or many, Paul lays such stress on the singular number in Genesis 13:15; Genesis 17:8 as to make it denote but one of Abraham's posterity, and that the Messiah: Galatians 3:16, also Galatians 3:19; and yet, that the way in which Pard presses the singular here is not utterly at variance with the genius of the Jewish-Greek language is evident from Αβραμιαίων σπερμάτων ἀπόγονοι, 4 Macc. 18:1, where the plural is used of many descendants ((cf. Geiger in Zeitschr. d. deutsch. Morgenl. Gesellsch. 1858, pp. 307-309; Delitzsch in Lut. Zeitschr. 1877 p. 603 sq.; Driver in the Expositor for Jan. 1889 p. 18 sq.; Lightfoot on Galatians, the passage cited)). τό σπέρμα (Ἀβραάμ) τό ἐκ τοῦ νόμου, the seed which is such according to the decision of the law, physical offspring (see νόμος, 2, p. 428{a}), τό ἐκ πίστεως Ἀβραάμ, those who are called Abraham's posterity on account of the faith by which they are akin to him (see πίστις, 1 b. ., p. 513{b} and ἐκ, II. 7), Romans 4:16; add, Romans 4:18; Rom 9:8; Galatians 3:29; similarly, Christians are called, in Revelation 12:17, the σπέρμα of the church (which is likened to a mother, Galatians 4:26).
β. whatever possesses vital force or life-giving power: τό σπέρμα τοῦ Θεοῦ ((but anarthrous)), the Holy Spirit, the divine energy operating within the soul by which we are regenerated or made the τέκνα τοῦ Θεοῦ, 1 John 3:9.
THAYER’S GREEK LEXICON, Electronic Database.
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006, 2011 by Biblesoft, Inc.
All rights reserved. Used by permission. BibleSoft.com

BLB Scripture Index of Thayer's

Genesis
13:15; 17:8; 38:8
Exodus
16:31
Leviticus
15:16; 15:17; 15:18; 18:20
1 Samuel
8:15
Isaiah
1:9
Matthew
13:24; 13:27; 13:32; 13:37; 22:24; 22:25
Mark
4:31; 12:19; 12:20; 12:21; 12:22
Luke
1:55; 20:28
John
7:42; 8:33; 8:37
Acts
3:25; 7:5; 13:23
Romans
1:3; 4:13; 4:16; 4:18; 9:7; 9:7; 9:8; 9:29; 11:1
1 Corinthians
15:38
2 Corinthians
9:10; 11:22
Galatians
3:16; 3:19; 3:29; 4:26
2 Timothy
2:8
Hebrews
2:16; 11:11; 11:11; 11:18
1 John
3:9
Revelation
12:17

Word / Phrase / Strong's Search

Strong's Number G4690 matches the Greek σπέρμα (sperma),
which occurs 43 times in 40 verses in the MGNT Greek.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 13:24 -

He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 13:27 -

“The landowner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from? ’

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 13:32 -

“It’s the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it’s taller than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 13:37 -

He replied, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 13:38 -

“the field is the world; and the good seed ​— ​these are the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one,

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 22:24 -

“Teacher, Moses said, if a man dies, having no children, his brother is to marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.

Unchecked Copy BoxMat 22:25 -

“Now there were seven brothers among us. The first got married and died. Having no offspring, he left his wife to his brother.

Unchecked Copy BoxMar 4:31 -

“It’s like a mustard seed that, when sown upon the soil, is the smallest of all the seeds on the ground.

Unchecked Copy BoxMar 12:19 -

“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife behind but no child, that man should take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother.

Unchecked Copy BoxMar 12:20 -

“There were seven brothers. The first married a woman, and dying, left no offspring.

Unchecked Copy BoxMar 12:21 -

“The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise.

Unchecked Copy BoxMar 12:22 -

“None of the seven[fn] left offspring. Last of all, the woman died too.

Unchecked Copy BoxLuk 1:55 -

to Abraham and his descendants[fn] forever,

just as he spoke to our ancestors.

Unchecked Copy BoxLuk 20:28 -

“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother has a wife, and dies childless, his brother should take the wife and produce offspring for his brother.

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 7:42 -

“Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Messiah comes from David’s offspring[fn] and from the town of Bethlehem, where David lived? ”

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 8:33 -

“We are descendants[fn] of Abraham,” they answered him, “and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’? ”

Unchecked Copy BoxJhn 8:37 -

“I know you are descendants of Abraham, but you are trying to kill me because my word has no place among you.

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 3:25 -

“You are the sons[fn] of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, And all the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring.

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 7:5 -

“He didn’t give him an inheritance in it ​— ​not even a foot of ground ​— ​but he promised to give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he was childless.

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 7:6 -

“God spoke in this way: His descendants would be strangers in a foreign country, and they would enslave and oppress them for four hundred years.

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:23 -

“From this man’s descendants, as he promised, God brought to Israel the Savior, Jesus.[fn]

Unchecked Copy BoxRom 1:3 -

concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a descendant of David[fn] according to the flesh

Unchecked Copy BoxRom 4:13 -

For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

Unchecked Copy BoxRom 4:16 -

This is why the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace, to guarantee it to all the descendants ​— ​not only to the one who is of the law[fn] but also to the one who is of Abraham’s faith. He is the father of us all.

Unchecked Copy BoxRom 4:18 -

He believed, hoping against hope, so that he became the father of many nations according to what had been spoken: So will your descendants be.

Unchecked Copy BoxRom 9:7 -

Neither is it the case that all of Abraham’s children are his descendants.[fn] On the contrary, your offspring will be traced[fn] through Isaac.

Unchecked Copy BoxRom 9:8 -

That is, it is not the children by physical descent[fn] who are God’s children, but the children of the promise are considered to be the offspring.

Unchecked Copy BoxRom 9:29 -

And just as Isaiah predicted:

If the Lord of Armies had not left us offspring,

we would have become like Sodom,

and we would have been made like Gomorrah.

Unchecked Copy BoxRom 11:1 -

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 15:38 -

But God gives it a body as he wants, and to each of the seeds its own body.

Unchecked Copy Box2Co 11:22 -

Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the descendants of Abraham? So am I.

Unchecked Copy BoxGal 3:16 -

Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say “and to seeds,” as though referring to many, but referring to one, and to your seed, who is Christ.

Unchecked Copy BoxGal 3:19 -

Why, then, was the law given? It was added for the sake of transgressions[fn] until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come. The law was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator.

Unchecked Copy BoxGal 3:29 -

And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.

Unchecked Copy Box2Ti 2:8 -

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead and descended from David, according to my gospel,

Unchecked Copy BoxHeb 2:16 -

For it is clear that he does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring.

Unchecked Copy BoxHeb 11:11 -

By faith even Sarah herself, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age, since she[fn] considered that the one who had promised was faithful.

Unchecked Copy BoxHeb 11:18 -

the one to whom it had been said, Your offspring[fn] will be traced through Isaac.

Unchecked Copy Box1Jo 3:9 -

Everyone who has been born of God does not sin,[fn] because his seed remains in him; he is not able to sin,[fn] because he has been born of God.

Unchecked Copy BoxRev 12:17 -

So the dragon was furious with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring[fn] ​— ​those who keep the commands of God and hold firmly to the testimony about Jesus.

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