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Word for Word : Episode 31

עֵ֚שֶׂב מַזְרִ֣יעַ זֶ֔רַע Herbs producing seed The second class of plants was what is variously translated herb and grass. The עֵ֚שֶׂב (aseb) was a distinct class of plant apart from the sprouts, though the ancient root means essentially the same thing. It may be that both words refer to small plants in general in different stages of growth. If this the case, the sprouts grow to become seed ( זֶ֔רַע . zera` ) lbearers. The root of the verb form here, zara`, means to sow, that is, to scatter seed.

Word for Word: Episode 30

תַּֽדְשֵׁ֤א הָאָ֨רֶץ֙ דֶּ֔שֶׁא Let the land sprout sprouts In commanding the soil, God calls out first to a barren land. The ground had no seed of its own, so God must have created the plants in the dirt and in full bloom. The grass filled the land, glistening under God's light as it entered the leading edge of the globe. The word for the class of plant that came up is דֶּ֔שֶׁא (deshe) is from the verb דָּשָׁא (dasha) which means " to sprout, shoot, grow green". In the original text, the letters had no vowel points. This means the reader would use context and syntax to give the narrative life. The sense of the phrase is that God told the land to become green with grass, and it did.