H3157 H3157
Jezreel — 'God sows'; a city in Issachar, a town in Judah, and a symbolic personal name (Hosea's son)
Derived from the Hebrew roots zāraʿ ('to sow') and ʾēl ('God'), meaning 'God sows.' As a place name, Jezreel primarily denotes the fortified city in Issachar on the northwest spur of Mount Gilboa, site of Ahab's royal palace, Naboth's vineyard, and Jehu's bloody purge (1 Kgs 21; 2 Kgs 9–10). A smaller Jezreel in the Negev of Judah was the home of Ahinoam, David's wife (1 Sam 25:43). As a personal name, it appears for a descendant of Etam in Judah's genealogy (1 Chr 4:3) and — most powerfully — as the prophetic name Hosea gave his firstborn son, signaling both judgment ('I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel') and future restoration ('I will sow her for myself in the land').
Senses
1. Jezreel (place name) — Jezreel as a place name — primarily the prominent city in the territory of Issachar at the edge of the great valley (Josh 19:18; 1 Kgs 18:45–46), scene of Naboth's judicial murder and Jehu's revolt, and secondarily a town in Judah's Negev (Josh 15:56). French renders it 'Jizréel,' German 'Jesreel/Jezreel,' Spanish 'Jezreel/Yizreel,' each preserving the theophoric element. The valley name (ʿēmeq Yizrĕʿeʾl) extends the toponym to the entire fertile plain. 34×
AR["في-يِزرَعيلَ", "في-يِزْرَعيلَ", "فِي-يِزْرَعِيلَ", "يِزرَعيلَ", "يِزْرَعيلَ", "يِزْرَعِيلَ"]·ben["থেকে", "যিজর্যিলে", "যিজর্যিলের", "যিজর্যেলে", "যিজ্রিয়েল", "যিজ্রিয়েলকে", "যিজ্রিয়েলের"]·DE["Jesreel", "Jezreel", "in-Jezreel", "zu-Jezreel"]·EN["Jezreel", "in-Jezreel", "to-Jezreel"]·FR["Jizréel", "dans-Jizréel", "à-Jizréel"]·heb["ב-יזרעאל", "יזרעאל", "יזרעאלה", "ל-יזרעאל"]·HI["बयिज्रएल", "यिज़रेएल", "यिज़रेएल-मेइन", "यिज़्रेल-के", "यिज्रएल", "यिज्रएलाह", "यिज्रेल", "यिज्रेल-का", "यिज्रेल-की", "यिज्रेल-के", "वयिज्रएल"]·ID["(ke)-Yizreel", "Yizreel", "di-Yizreel", "ke-Yizreel"]·IT["Izreel", "a-Izreel", "in-Izreel"]·jav["Yizreel", "Yizreèl", "Yizrèèl", "Yizréèl", "dhateng-Yizreel", "ing-Yizreel", "ing-Yizréèl", "wonten-ing-Yizreèl"]·KO["에-이즈르엘", "이스르엘", "이스르엘-에서", "이스르엘-을", "이스르엘-의", "이스르엘로", "이스르엘에서", "이스르엘의", "이즈르엘로"]·PT["Jezreel", "Yizre'el", "Yizreel", "em-Jezreel", "em-Yizre'el", "em-Yizreel", "para-Yizre'el"]·RU["Изреелем", "Изреель", "Изреелю", "Изрееля", "Йизреэля", "в-Изрееле", "в-Изреель", "в-Йизреэле", "в-Йизреэль"]·ES["Jezreel", "Yizreel", "en-Jezreel"]·SW["Yezreeli", "Yizreeli", "katika-Yezreeli"]·TR["-Yizreel'de", "Yizreel", "Yizreel'de", "Yizreel'e", "Yizreel'in"]·urd["یزرعیل", "یزرعیل-میں", "یزرعیل-کو", "یزرعیل-کے"]
Josh 15:56, Josh 17:16, Josh 19:18, Judg 6:33, 1 Sam 25:43, 1 Sam 29:1, 1 Sam 29:11, 2 Sam 4:4, 1 Kgs 4:12, 1 Kgs 18:45, 1 Kgs 18:46, 1 Kgs 21:1 (+22 more)
2. Jezreel (personal name) — Jezreel as a personal name, carried by a son of Etam in Judah's genealogy (1 Chr 4:3) and by Hosea's firstborn son (Hos 1:4), where the etymology 'God sows' is activated as prophetic wordplay — first as judgment on the bloodshed at the city of Jezreel, then reversed in Hos 2:22 as a promise of agricultural and national restoration. The multilingual evidence distinguishes this usage: English 'Yizreel,' Spanish 'Yizreel,' while French and German leave the Hebrew unvocalized in brackets. 2×
AR["يَزرَعيل", "يِزْرَعِيلَ"]·ben["যিষ্রীয়েলের", "যিস্রীয়েল"]·DE["Yizreel", "[יזרעאל]"]·EN["Yizre'el", "Yizreel"]·FR["Yizreel", "[יזרעאל]"]·heb["יזרעאל"]·HI["यिज्रेल"]·ID["Yizreel"]·IT["Yizreel", "[יזרעאל]"]·jav["Yizreel", "Yizréèl"]·KO["이스르엘"]·PT["Yizre'el"]·RU["Изреэлем", "Изреэль"]·ES["Yizreel"]·SW["Yezreeli"]·TR["Yizreel"]·urd["یزرعیل"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† יִזְרְעֶאל 1. n.pr.loc. (God soweth; Sab. אלדֿרא Mordt ZMG 1879, 489; v. LagBN 131)—י׳ Jos 15:56 2 S 2:9 +; יִזְרְעֶ֑אל 1 S 25:43 Jos 17:16 +; יִזְרְעֶ֫אלָה Jos 19:18 + 6 times: a. city in the Negeb of Judah Jos 15:56 1 S 25:43 (home of Ahinoam, one of David’s wives), site unknown; cf. n.pr.m. 1 Ch 4:3. b. city in Issachar Jos 19:18 on NW. spur of Mt. Gilboa 2 S 4:4 (cf. 1 S 31:1, 8) 1 K 4:12…