H2145 H2145
Male -- a male human being or male animal, used in contexts of creation, law, census, genealogy, and sacrificial offering.
The basic Hebrew term for 'male,' appearing first in the foundational statement of Gen 1:27, 'male and female he created them.' Throughout Torah legislation it distinguishes gender for census counts, inheritance rights, and ritual purity laws. In sacrificial contexts it specifies the requirement for an unblemished male animal from the flock or herd (Exod 13:12, Deut 15:19). The multilingual evidence is strikingly consistent -- Spanish varon/macho, French male, German Mannlicher -- all tracking the same binary distinction between human and animal referents.
1. male (human being) — A male human being -- man or boy -- used in contrast to female (neqevah) when describing gender in creation narratives (Gen 1:27, 'male and female he created them'), census records, legal codes, and genealogies. Spanish consistently renders varon for the human sense while French and German use male/Mannlicher, all confirming the primary anthropological reference across 79 occurrences. 79×
AR["ذَكَرًا","ذَكَرٌ","ذَكَرٍ"]·ben["পুরুষ"]·DE["Männliche","Männlicher","ein-maennlich","maennlich","männlich"]·EN["a-male","male"]·FR["mâle","un-mâle"]·heb["זכר"]·HI["नर","पुरुष","पुरुषों-को"]·ID["jantan","laki-laki"]·IT["maschio","un-maschio"]·jav["jaler","kakung","tiyang-kakung"]·KO["남자","남자가","남자를","수컷"]·PT["macho","varão"]·RU["мужского-пола","мужской-пол","мужскому-полу","мужчина","мужчину","самец","самца"]·ES["macho","varón"]·SW["dume","mwanaume","mwaume"]·TR["erkek","erkekleri","erkeği"]·urd["مرد","نر"]
Gen 1:27, Gen 6:19, Gen 7:3, Gen 7:9, Gen 7:16, Gen 17:10, Gen 17:12, Gen 17:14, Gen 17:23, Gen 34:15, Gen 34:22, Gen 34:24 (+38 more)
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. male animal — A male animal, specifically in sacrificial and ritual legislation where an unblemished male from the flock or herd is required as an offering to YHWH. Spanish shifts to 'el macho' and English to 'the male/the males' with the definite article marking the ritual specification. Attested in Exod 13:12 (firstborn males consecrated) and Deut 15:19 (firstborn male of the herd). 3×
AR["الذَّكَرُ","الذُّكُورُ","الذُّكُورِ"]·ben["পুরুষগুলি","সেই-পুরুষ"]·DE["der-maennlich","der-males"]·EN["the-male","the-males"]·FR["le-males","le-mâle"]·heb["ה-זכר","ה-זכרים"]·HI["नर"]·ID["yang-jantan"]·IT["il-males","il-maschio"]·jav["ingkang-jaler","ingkang-kakung"]·KO["그-수컷들은","그-수컷들을","그-수컻을"]·PT["o-macho","os-machos","os-machos,"]·RU["-мужского-пола","мужского-пола"]·ES["el-macho","los-machos"]·SW["dume"]·TR["-erkek","erkekler","erkekleri"]·urd["-نر","نر"]
Related Senses
H0376 1. man, person, human male (2130×)H0001 1. father, immediate male parent (1031×)H0251 1. brother (blood sibling) (573×)H0120 1. man, human being (individual/generic) (527×)H0802 1. woman, female person (519×)G0444 1. human being, person (469×)G3962 1. father or divine Father (413×)G0080 1. brother, fellow believer (343×)H0802 2. wife, spouse (255×)H0517 1. mother, female parent (217×)G0435 1. man, male person (202×)G1135 1. woman, adult female (190×)H2233 1. offspring, descendants (172×)H0001 2. ancestor, forefather (146×)H5288 1. Youth, young man (122×)H0269 1. sister (female sibling) (113×)H1755 1. generation, contemporaries (96×)G5043 1. child, offspring (89×)G0444 2. people, humankind (86×)H3206 1. child, boy, youth (86×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† זָכָר n.m. & adj. male (Assyrian zikaru, zikru, COTGloss Lyon Manual, Gloss; Arabic ذَكَرٌ; Aramaic דִּכְרָא, ܕܶܟܪܳܐ; Sab. דֿ[כ]רם DHMZMG 1876, 675; relation to above √ obscure; male as mentioned, talked of, Lane969 f.; from assumed orig. sense be sharp (traces of this in Arabic: v. Lane), BöProb 207 Fl in ChWB i, 422, cf. Arabic ذَكَرٌ male organ; SchwallyZAW 1891, 176 ff. from זָכַר = call…