Word for Word: Episode 33

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פְּרִי֙ לְמִינֹ֔ו

Fruit after its own kind

From the very beginning, plants have been producing other plants, not in a generic way, but in a specific plan. Each one produces fruit that is expected from it.

The word for this in Hebrew is מִין ("meen"). Its root meaning is "a portion, or sort". Each kind of plant has built in instructions to make more of the same kind.

Much discussion has ensued as to what a "kind" is. The concept is plain: parent organisms produce others like themselves. The similarities are not just on the surface, so any observations should take context into account.


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