Lexical Summary
tsamach: To sprout, to spring up, to grow
Original Word:צָמַח
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:tsamach
Pronunciation:tsaw-makh'
Phonetic Spelling:(tsaw-makh')
KJV: bear, bring forth, (cause to, make to) bud (forth), (cause to, make to) grow (again, up), (cause to) spring (forth, up)
NASB:grow, spring, spring forth, sprout, sprouted, grown, branch
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. to sprout (transitive or intransitive, literal or figurative)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
bear, bring forth, cause to, make to bud forth, make to grow again, cause to spring forth,
A primitive root; to sprout (transitive or intransitive, literal or figurative) -- bear, bring forth, (cause to, make to) bud (forth), (cause to, make to) grow (again, up), (cause to) spring (forth, up).
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto sprout, spring up
NASB Translationbranch (1), grow (8), growing (1), grown (2), spring (5), spring forth (5), springs (1), sprout (4), sprouted (4), sprouts (1), unproductive* (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
(Late Hebrew
id., so ; Sir.
spring or shine forth,
shining, also
sprout; Phoenician
posterity); —
Perfect3masculine singularLeviticus 13:37; 3plural consecutiveIsaiah 44:4;Imperfect3masculine singularJob 5:6, 3feminine pluralIsaiah 42:9, etc.;ParticipleExodus 10:5,Ecclesiastes 2:6; feminine pluralGenesis 41:6,23; —sprout, spring up:
Genesis 2:5;Exodus 10:5 (both J),Genesis 41:6,23 (E),Ezekiel 17:6 (in figurative); once (late)Ecclesiastes 2:6wood sprouting with trees (full of growing trees); figurative of future ruler (see )Zechariah 6:12, posterityIsaiah 44:4, compareJob 8:19, trouble()Isaiah 5:6,truth ()Psalm 85:12, restoration ()Isaiah 58:8, future eventsIsaiah 42:9.
Leviticus 13:37 (P; compare ).
grow abunduntly, always of hair; — Perfect 3 masculine singularEzekiel 16:7 (in figurative):Imperfect3masculine singular2 Samuel 10:5 =1 Chronicles 19:5 (of beard);Infinitive constructJudges 16:22 (Samson's hair).
Perfect3masculine singular suffixIsaiah 55:10Imperfect3masculine singular2 Samuel 23:5;Isaiah 61:Genesis 2:9, etc.;Infinitive constructJob 38:27;ParticiplePsalm 104:14;Psalm 147:8; —
cause to grow, with accusative of plant, subjectGenesis 2:9;Psalm 104:14, compareJob 38:27, with 2accusativePsalm 147:8who causeth mountains to sprout grass; figurative, objectJeremiah 33:15;horn () of IsraelEzekiel 29:21, of DavidPsalm 132:17; righteousness, etc.Isaiah 61:11b; compare also2 Samuel 23:5 (if interrogative, see Dr Bu; otherwise HPS); subject groundGenesis 3:18 compareIsaiah 61:11a (simile),Deuteronomy 29:22 (object omitted); also (figurative)Isaiah 45:8 (compare Di Kit).
,cause the earthto sprout (absolute),Isaiah 55:10.
Topical Lexicon
General Meaning and ImageryThe verb צָמַח paints the picture of hidden life pushing upward into visibility—sprouting, budding, flourishing. It is used of vegetation, horns, human hair, and even abstract qualities such as faithfulness or righteousness. The range of usage underscores a unifying theme: what God has planted, whether physical or spiritual, inevitably manifests itself in the created order.
Agricultural Context in Israel’s World
Ancient Israel depended on seasonal rainfall for crops.Genesis 2:5 notes that “no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth,” linking sprouting directly to divine provision.Psalm 104:14 celebrates the same reality: “He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate.” To the agrarian ear that first heard Scripture read aloud, צָמַח was the ordinary yet wondrous rhythm of survival—seedtime followed by God-given growth.
In drought or judgment, the verb turns negative.Deuteronomy 29:23 foresees a cursed land “incapable of producing anything that sprouts,” an image of covenant reversal as stark as a dust-blown field.
Divine Agency in Growth
Though farmers sow and tend, the text consistently attributes the sprouting itself to God.Isaiah 55:10–11 parallels rain that “buds and sprouts” with the unfailing efficacy of God’s word. The growth of a staff inNumbers 17:8—“Aaron’s staff had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced almonds”—makes the priesthood’s legitimacy a matter of visible, God-wrought life. Whenever צָמַח appears, the reader is invited to see beyond natural processes to the Sovereign who animates them.
Judgment and Blessing
Growth imagery becomes a theological gauge.Psalm 92:7 observes, “Though the wicked sprout like grass… they will be forever destroyed,” whilePsalm 85:11 rejoices, “Faithfulness sprouts from the earth.” Sprouting can signify either fleeting prosperity under judgment or enduring blessing under covenant grace. The prophets exploit both sides:Ezekiel 17 pictures a vine that “sprouted” under foreign control only to wither, whereasEzekiel 29:21 promises, “I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel.” Context determines whether צָמַח heralds doom or deliverance, but the verb itself remains a testimony to God’s active governance of history.
Messianic Significance: The Righteous Branch
The noun derived from the same root (צֶמַח) becomes a messianic title—“the Branch.” Yet the verb also carries messianic weight.Jeremiah 33:15 records God’s pledge: “I will cause to spring forth for David a righteous Branch.”Zechariah 6:12 adds, “He will branch out from His place and build the temple of the LORD.” The sprouting here is not botanical but royal and redemptive. Just as unseen life breaks through the soil, so the promised Son of David emerges in history, establishing a kingdom whose growth is sure. New Testament writers echo this expectation when they present Jesus as the fulfillment of the Branch prophecies.
Covenantal Renewal and National Restoration
Isaiah 61:11 employs agricultural metaphor for post-exilic hope: “As the soil brings forth its sprouts… so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.” Restoration after judgment is pictured not merely as rebuilding walls but as fresh, green life bursting forth. Ministries that long for revival can draw from this reservoir of promise, trusting that the same God who made dry staffs bloom can make desert hearts flourish.
Personal and Ethical Growth
Proverbs 11:28 warns, “Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like foliage.” Growth vocabulary challenges believers to evaluate what kind of life is sprouting from their choices.Psalm 132:17 points to a “horn” God will “make… grow for David,” suggesting that sanctification and godly leadership are likewise divine productions. Pastoral application flows naturally: cultivate obedience, yet rest in the Lord who alone causes true maturity.
Eschatological Hope
Isaiah 45:8 pleads, “Let the earth open, let salvation spring up.” The final horizon is global: righteousness, salvation, and praise will one day erupt everywhere the curse once reigned. Revelation’s vision of the new earth completes the trajectory: what began as an Edenic sprout ends in an everlasting harvest.
Theological Summary for Ministry Application
1. Growth is God’s prerogative; human labor is vital but never ultimate.
2. Judgments that wither and mercies that make flourish both vindicate God’s covenant fidelity.
3. The Messiah’s advent is the supreme “sprouting,” guaranteeing every lesser renewal.
4. Spiritual leaders labor in confidence, knowing that unseen seeds of the word will, in God’s timing, break the surface.
5. Every blade of grass, every revival of righteousness, and every new believer testifies that צָמַח is still at work, until the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
Forms and Transliterations
אַצְמִ֣יחַ אַצְמִ֤יחַ אַצְמִ֥יחַ אצמיח הַמַּצְמִ֖יחַ הַצֹּמֵ֥חַ המצמיח הצמח וְהִצְמִיחָ֑הּ וְצָמְח֖וּ וַיִּצְמַ֡ח וַיַּצְמַ֞ח וּ֝לְהַצְמִ֗יחַ והצמיחה ויצמח ולהצמיח וצמחו יְצַמַּ֥ח יִצְמַ֥ח יִצְמָ֑ח יִצְמָ֔ח יִצְמָֽחוּ׃ יַצְמִ֤יחַ יַצְמִֽיחַ׃ יצמח יצמחו׃ יצמיח יצמיח׃ לְצַמֵּ֖חַ לצמח מַצְמִ֤יחַ מצמיח צִמֵּ֔חַ צָֽמַח־ צֹמְח֖וֹת צוֹמֵ֥חַ צומח צמח צמח־ צמחות תִּצְמַ֖חְנָה תִּצְמָ֑ח תִצְמָ֑ח תִצְמָ֔ח תַּצְמִ֣יחַֽ תַצְמִ֑יחַ תַצְמִ֔חַ תַצְמִ֙יחַ֙ תצמח תצמחנה תצמיח ’aṣ·mî·aḥ ’aṣmîaḥ atzMiach ham·maṣ·mî·aḥ hammaṣmîaḥ hammatzMiach haṣ·ṣō·mê·aḥ haṣṣōmêaḥ hatztzoMeach lə·ṣam·mê·aḥ ləṣammêaḥ letzamMeach maṣ·mî·aḥ maṣmîaḥ matzMiach ṣā·maḥ- ṣāmaḥ- ṣim·mê·aḥ ṣimmêaḥ ṣō·mə·ḥō·wṯ ṣō·w·mê·aḥ ṣōməḥōwṯ ṣōwmêaḥ taṣ·mî·aḥ ṯaṣ·mi·aḥ ṯaṣ·mî·aḥ taṣmîaḥ ṯaṣmiaḥ ṯaṣmîaḥ tatzMiach tiṣ·māḥ ṯiṣ·māḥ tiṣ·maḥ·nāh tiṣmāḥ ṯiṣmāḥ tiṣmaḥnāh titzMach titzMachnah tzamach tzimMeach tzoMeach tzomeChot ū·lə·haṣ·mî·aḥ ūləhaṣmîaḥ ulehatzMiach vaiyatzMach vaiyitzMach vehitzmiChah vetzameChu way·yaṣ·maḥ way·yiṣ·maḥ wayyaṣmaḥ wayyiṣmaḥ wə·hiṣ·mî·ḥāh wə·ṣā·mə·ḥū wəhiṣmîḥāh wəṣāməḥū yaṣ·mî·aḥ yaṣmîaḥ yatzMiach yə·ṣam·maḥ yəṣammaḥ yetzamMach yiṣ·mā·ḥū yiṣ·maḥ yiṣ·māḥ yiṣmaḥ yiṣmāḥ yiṣmāḥū yitzMach yitzMachu
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