Zerah (Bible)
Zerah is the name of six people in the Old Testament .
etymology
The Hebrew personal name זֶרַח zæraḥ ( i. P. זָרַח zāraḥ ; e.g. Gen 38,30 EU ) is the short form of a verb sentence name, consisting of subject and predicate. The subject and at the same time theophoric element have failed, so that only the predicate is preserved. This is derived from the root זרח zrḥ "radiate" and is an intransitive verb. The name can be translated as "(God) is radiated". The long forms of the name are Serachja (זְרַחְיָה zəraḥjāh ) and Jisrachja (יִזְרַחְיָה jizraḥjāh ), both of which mean " YHWH is radiated". The radiance of the deity is an image of the happiness brought by it.
Alternatively, the name can also be understood as a nominal sentence name with the meaning "(God) is radiance" or as a one-word name "Aufgang / Aufstrahl", both of which are less likely. The latter option is followed by the standard translation in Gen 38.30 EU when it translates "Rotglanz".
The Septuagint gives the name with ζαρα zara (e.g. Gen 36,13 LXX ) or ζαρε zare (e.g. Gen 36,33 LXX ). The first spelling follows the New Testament in Mt 1,3 EU with Ζάρα zára .
Serach, grandson of Esau
In Gen 36,13 EU a Zerach is mentioned as the son of Reguel. Reguël is a son of Esau and Basemat. According to Gen 36.17 EU he is a chief in Edom. His son Jobab succeeds Belas King of Edom ( Gen 36.33 EU ).
Zerah, son of Judah and Tamar
Zerah is the son of Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar . She was initially married to Er , the son of Judas, who died soon after the wedding without any descendants. Onan , Er's brother, then entered into a levirate marriage with her on Judas's instructions , but he did so reluctantly and prevented the conception of a descendant. Shortly afterwards he died too. By law, Shela, Onan's brother, would have been obliged to marry Tamar in order to create offspring for his brother Er. Judah, however, delayed the marriage because he feared the early death of his third son as well. After the death of Judas' wife, Tamar dressed as a whore seduced her father-in-law and thus procured offspring.
During the confinement, Serach held out his hand in front of his twin brother Perez , to which a red thread was tied for recognition. However, his hand disappeared again and Perez was born first, only after him was Serach born ( Gen 38.29 EU ).
As Perez's brother, the name also appears in the family tree of Jesus of Matthew ( Mt 1,3 EU ).
Zerah, daughter of Asher
Serach is also the name of a daughter of Ascher mentioned in Gen 46.17 EU . Her brothers are called Jimna, Jischwa, Jischwi and Beria.
Zerah, a Simeonite
Zerach is the fourth son of Simeon according to 1 Chr 4,24 EU . His descendants are the Zerahites. His brothers are called Jemuël, Jamin, Jarib and Schaul.
Zerah the Levite
According to 1 Chr 6,6 EU, Zerah is a Levite and Gershonite. His father is called Iddo, his son Etni.
Zerah the Cushite
According to 2 Chr 14.8 EU, Zerach is the name of a Kushite who with an army of one million men and three hundred chariots against King Asa of Judah and is defeated by him.
literature
- Martin Noth : The Israelite personal names in the context of common naming , Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1928, 184.242.
- Hans Rechenmacher : Old Hebrew personal names. Münster 2012, 61.129f.203.