SEED, SEEDTIME (Heb. zera; Gr. sperma, sporos, spora).1. Literal.(a) Vegetable (Gen_1:11; Gen_8:22 etc.). See Agriculture, § 1. (b) Animal (Lev_15:16-18 etc.). 2. Metaphorical.(a) Offspring, race, family (Gen_3:15; Gen_9:9; Gen_12:7 etc.; Mar_12:19 ff., Luk_1:55, Joh_7:42 etc.). In NT it is especially frequent in the phrase the seed of Abrahama favourite Pauline equivalent for Israel (cf. Rom_11:1, 2Co_11:22). In Gal_3:16 St. Paul argues from the use of the sing. seed instead of the plur. seeds in Gen_13:15; Gen_17:8, that the Messiah in person is denoted and not Abrahams progeny in general. As a proof the argument has no force, for the same word zera occurs in the sing, form in every passage in the OT where it expresses the idea of offspring. It is a verbal subtlety due to the Apostles Rabbinical training. But the argument as a whole is independent of this grammatical refinement. St. Pauls meaning is that the Messiah was clearly in view in the promises made to Abraham. Israel was the type of Christ, and in Him the seed of Abraham was summed up. From this follows that further extension of the fig. seed of Abraham to denote those united to Christ by faith (Gal_3:7; Gal_3:28), the spiritual Israel or Israel of God (Rom_2:29, Gal_6:16). (b) Vital energy. In 1Jn_3:9 seed denotes the indwelling principle of the Divine life by which the Christian is kept from sin.
J. C. Lambert.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909