זֶה
𐤆𐤄
zeh
H2089
SILEX Entry
Definition
A young sheep, lamb—particularly a male or female lamb, occasionally a sheep more generally. In most contexts, refers specifically to a member of a flock during its first year of life, often in cultic or pastoral settings. The term focuses on youthfulness and suitability for sacrificial purposes or as a vulnerable, tender animal within a flock. In narrative and legal passages, denotes a lamb used in offerings, pastoral economy, or as a metaphor for innocence or vulnerability.
Semantic Range
lamb, young sheep, sacrificial animal; rarely, general sheep
Root / Etymology
By permutation of the root שֶׂה (seh), meaning 'sheep, lamb.' The variant form זֶה (zeh) appears rarely in biblical text and represents a dialectal or orthographic variation rather than a distinct root. Root שׂ-י-ה (שׂחה/שׂיה), meaning 'to wander' (possibly referring to the grazing or roving behavior of sheep), is sometimes posited as connected, but direct derivation is debated; etymology uncertain beyond relationship to שֶׂה.
Historical & Contextual Notes
זֶה is an unusual and rare variant of the standard Hebrew noun שֶׂה for 'lamb' or 'sheep,' found in a limited set of passages (e.g., 1 Samuel 7:9). Its usage is largely confined to narrative contexts emphasizing ritual sacrifice, especially in describing animal offerings. The archetypal setting is within Israelite cultic practice. English translations regularly render both זֶה and שֶׂה as 'lamb' or 'sheep,' but rarely, if ever, distinguish the variant form. In later Hebrew periods, זֶה is not attested in this nominal sense and becomes predominantly the common demonstrative pronoun ('this'). Care must be taken to distinguish this nominal usage from the much more frequent demonstrative pronoun זֶה (zeh, 'this'), which is etymologically and grammatically unrelated.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
(1 Samuel by permutation for שֶׂה; a sheep; lamb.
Bantu Hebrew
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0 distinct forms
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Occurrences in Scripture
0 occurrences
No occurrences found.