στεῖρα G4723
Barren, infertile; describing a woman unable to bear children, often contrasted with God's power to give life.
An adjective meaning 'barren' or 'infertile,' applied exclusively to women in the New Testament. It appears in narratives of miraculous reversal: Elizabeth, though barren and advanced in years, conceives John the Baptist (Luke 1:7, 36). Jesus pronounces a paradoxical blessing on the barren in the coming tribulation (Luke 23:29). Paul quotes Isaiah 54:1 in Galatians 4:27, where the barren woman who rejoices prefigures the fruitfulness of the new covenant. Hebrews 11:11 celebrates Sarah receiving power to conceive despite being past age. Every translation — Spanish estéril, French stérile, German unfruchtbar — echoes the Latin sterilis, all tracing back to the same Indo-European root.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Barren, unable to bear children — used of women whose infertility becomes the stage for divine intervention or theological argument. Elizabeth's barrenness (Luke 1:7, 36) sets up the miraculous birth of John the Baptist; Sarah's barrenness (Heb 11:11) demonstrates the power of faith. Luke 23:29 inverts expectations by calling the barren 'blessed' in view of coming judgment. Galatians 4:27 (quoting Isa 54:1) allegorizes the barren woman as the new covenant community that will surpass the old in fruitfulness. The etymology connects Greek steira to Latin sterilis and Sanskrit staris ('barren cow'), as reflected uniformly in Spanish estéril, French stérile, and German unfruchtbar — all emphasizing the absence of reproductive capacity. 5×
AR["أيَّتُها-العاقِرُ", "عواقِرُ", "عَاقِر", "عَاقِرًا"]·ben["বন্ধ্যা", "বন্ধ্যারা"]·DE["unfruchtbar", "στείρᾳ", "στεῖρα", "στεῖραι"]·EN["barren"]·FR["stérile"]·heb["עֲקָרָה", "עֲקָרוֹת"]·HI["[बांझ],", "बअनझ", "बाँझ", "बांझ"]·ID["[mandul],", "mandul", "perempuan-mandul"]·IT["steira", "steirai"]·jav["[gabug]", "gabug", "gabug,", "gabug."]·KO["불임", "불임-이었고", "불임-인", "숙여인", "숙여자들과"]·PT["estéril"]·RU["бесплодна", "бесплодная", "бесплодной", "бесплодные", "неплодная"]·ES["estéril", "estériles"]·SW["aliye-tasa", "tasa", "wasiokuza"]·TR["kısır", "kısırlar"]·urd["[بانجھ]", "اے-بانجھ", "بانجھ"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
στεῖρα, ἡ, a cow or other animal __B that has not brought forth young, στεῖραν βοῦν.. ῥέξειν Refs 8th c.BC+ __B.II of women, barren, LXX+NT; Μοῖρα σ. Refs 1st c.BC+; of women past childbearing, Refs 5th c.BC+ __B.II.2 not having had offspring, virgin, Refs 3rd c.BC+. (Cf. Sanskrit star[imacracute]s 'barren cow, heifer', Latin sterilis.)