Word for Word: Episode 50

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זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה בָּרָ֥א אֹתָֽם
He created them male and female
It is hard to escape the biological truth reiterated in this verse. Mankind originates in the center of a man. The idea of the seed crosses all forms of life. The male (Heb. זָכָר zakar) is the sower of the seed. The adjective/noun is from זָכַר, to remember, bring to mind. Generally, it is the male of a species that is dominant.
Conversely, the female (נְקֵבָה nĕqebah) is the fertile receptor of the seed. The knowledge of the role of the egg was unknown in ancient times, though infertility was a great concern. The word nĕqebah is from the verb נָקַב (nakab) which means "to pierce, perforate, bore" and by extension, "to appoint". This is purely an agricultural term, as thoroughly appropriate with animals as it is with plants.
The fact that the sexual differences were "created" means that these differences are essential to life. The mere "making" of organisms might work for a generation, but not for the propagation of the species.

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