---
title: זָכָר — male · The Tanakh dictionary
description: זָכָר (2145), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 83 times: male. BDB 1906: n.m. adj. male. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# זָכָר

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«זָכָר» in the Tanakh dictionary: **male** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

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**Used:** 83 times · **Key:** 2145 · **BDB:** זָכָר

### Glosses

male (42); males (17); a.male (13)

### Meaning (OSHB)

male [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1494/2145/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

n.m. adj. male [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1494/2145/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** n.m. \& adj. male (Assyrian zikaru, zikru, COTGloss Lyon Manual, Gloss; Arabic ذَكَرٌ; Aramaic דִּכְרָא, ܕܶܟܪܳܐ; Sab. דֿ\[כ\]רם DHMZMG 1876, 675; relation to above √ obscure; male as mentioned, talked of, Lane969 f.; from assumed orig. sense be sharp (traces of this in Arabic: v. Lane), BöProb 207 Fl in ChWB i, 422, cf. Arabic ذَكَرٌ male organ; SchwallyZAW 1891, 176 ff. from זָכַר = call upon in worship; hence male as competent to worship. (Against Schwally’s view see JPeritzWoman in the Ancient Hebrew Cult, JBL xvii (1898), 111 ff.).) —always abs. ז׳ Gn 1:27 +; pl. (ה)זְכָרִים Ex 13:12 +; vid. also \[זָכוּר\]:— subst. male, offspring of men and animals Ex 13:12, 15 (pl., both JE); opp. נְקֵבָה Dt 4:16; specif. of men: in phr. אשׁר לא יָֽדְעָה אישׁ לְמִשְׁכַב זָכָר Ju 21:12 (BuRS 153 DrIntr. 151), cf. v 11, Nu 31:17, 18, 35 (all 3 P); צַלְמֵי זָכָר Ez 16:17. alone = man Je 30:6 (רְאוּ אִם־יֹלֵד זָכָ֑ר, ‖ גֶּבֶר); usually coll., men, male persons (of all ages) Ju 21:11 1 K 11:15, 16, Gn 34:25 Lv 6:11, 22; 7:6 Nu 1:2, 20, 22; 3:28, 34, 39; 18:10; 26:62; 31:7, 17 (all P); pl. (ה)זכרים 2 Ch 31:16 Ezr 8:3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, so also Jos 5:4 (‖ כל־העם, and כל־אנשׁי המלחמה), 17:2 (gloss? cf. DrIntr. 104); especially of individ., in connex. with circumcision Gn 17:10, 12, 14, 23; 34:15, 22, 24 Ex 12:48 (all P); of male child Lv 12:2 (P) Is 66:7; opp. נְקֵבָה Gn 1:27; 5:2 Lv 12:7 (child) 15:33; 27:3, 5, 6, 7 Nu 5:3 (all P; cf. Sab. אנתֿים פאו דֿ(כ)רם DHMl.c.); opp. אִשָּׁה in command ag. sodomy Lv 18:22; 20:13 (both H). of animals, especially for sacrifice Ex 34:19 (JE; read הַזָּכָר for MT תִּזָּכָר); Ex 12:5 Lv 1:3, 10; 4:23 (all P) 22:19 (H), Mal 1:14; opp. נְקֵבָה Gn 6:19; 7:3, 9, 16 Lv 3:1, 6 (all P) adj. sg. male (only human beings) יֻלַּד־לְךָ בֵּן ז׳ Je 20:15; כָּל־בְּכֹר ז׳ Nu 3:40, 43 (both P).

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 77 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (9 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (8 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «זָכָר» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1494/2145/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Leviticus 18:22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/LEV.18.22/)

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וְאֶ֨ת־זָכָ֔ר לֹ֥א תִשְׁכַּ֖ב מִשְׁכְּבֵ֣י אִשָּׁ֑ה תּוֹעֵבָ֖ה הִֽוא׃

*Word for word:* and with a.male not you.will.lie \[the\].lyings of.a.woman \[is\].an.abomination it

*JPS 1917:* Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is abomination.

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[Leviticus 6:22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/LEV.6.22/)

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כָּל־זָכָ֥ר בַּכֹּהֲנִ֖ים יֹאכַ֣ל אֹתָ֑הּ קֹ֥דֶשׁ קָֽדָשִׁ֖ים הִֽוא׃

*Word for word:* every male among the priests he.will.eat it \[is\].a.holy.thing of.holy.things it

*JPS 1917:* Every male among the priests may eat thereof; it is most holy.

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