Original Word: זָכוּר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: zakuwr
Pronunciation: zah-KOOR
Phonetic Spelling: (zaw-koor')
KJV: males, men-children
NASB: males, men
Word Origin: [(properly) passive participle of H2142 (זָכַר - remember), but used for H2145 (זָכָר - male)]

1. a male (of man or animals)

males, men-children

Properly, passive participle of zakar, but used for zakar; a male (of man or animals) -- males, men-children.

see HEBREW zakar

see HEBREW zakar

Word Origin
from zakar
Definition
a male
NASB Translation
males (3), men (1).

[זָכוּר] noun masculine male, i. q. זָכָר, but only with suffix; — collective כָּלזְֿכוּרְךָ Exodus 23:17 = Exodus 34:23 (both J E), = Deuteronomy 16:16, of attendance at feasts; כָּלזְֿכוּרָהּ (of city refusing terms of peace) Deuteronomy 20:13 commanded to be slain (opposed to הַנָּשִׁים, הַטַּף, etc., Deuteronomy 20:14).

Occurrences and Context

זָכוּר is found only four times in the Old Testament: Exodus 23:17; Exodus 34:23; Deuteronomy 16:16; Deuteronomy 20:13. In the first three instances the term governs Israel’s worship calendar, calling every male to appear before the Lord during the three great pilgrimage festivals. In the final occurrence it defines the military rules of engagement for Israel’s siege warfare.

Covenant Worship and Festivals

Exodus 23:17; 34:23 and Deuteronomy 16:16 unite around the command: “Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD” (Exodus 23:17). The stipulated gatherings—Unleavened Bread, Weeks, and Tabernacles—served as covenant renewals. By summoning “all your males,” Yahweh required the recognized heads of households and tribes to present themselves before Him. Their presence signified:

• National unity under divine kingship.
• Annual reaffirmation of redemption (Unleavened Bread), provision (Weeks), and rest in covenant fellowship (Tabernacles).
• Visible confession that the nation’s security lay not in standing armies at home but in obedience to the Lord of Hosts.

Household Representation and Spiritual Leadership

In patriarchal Israel the male was understood as representative of his household (compare Job 1:5). By commanding the זָכוּר to appear, the Law ensured that every family, widow, orphan, and sojourner was indirectly brought before God. The call required:

• Personal accountability—each man must present himself, not merely send offerings.
• Generosity—“They must not appear before the Lord empty-handed” (Deuteronomy 16:16), linking worship with stewardship.
• Instruction—these festivals became teachable moments (Deuteronomy 6:20–25), grounding future generations in redemptive history.

Judicial and Military Application

Deuteronomy 20:13 shifts the use of זָכוּר to warfare: “When the LORD your God delivers it into your hand, you must put every male in the city to the sword”. The term marks those liable to combat and leadership within the enemy city. The distinction protected noncombatants while administering covenant justice (compare Deuteronomy 20:14).

Theological Implications and Christological Foreshadowing

1. Representative Headship. The male’s required appearance prefigures the once-for-all representation accomplished by “the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5), who entered the heavenly sanctuary on behalf of His people (Hebrews 9:24).
2. Redemption Remembered. Each feast centered on acts of salvation later fulfilled in the Gospel—Passover in Christ’s atonement, Weeks in Pentecost, Tabernacles in the promise of God dwelling among His people (John 1:14; Revelation 21:3).
3. Covenant Universality. Although males were summoned, the blessings extended to “your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites within your gates” (Deuteronomy 16:11). The New Covenant widens the summons to “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord” (Acts 2:21).

Practical Ministry Insights

• Worship Leadership. Faithful men are called to take primary responsibility in leading families and congregations to corporate worship, echoing the pattern of the pilgrimage feasts.
• Spiritual Accountability. Regular appearance before God—now expressed in Lord’s-Day assembly and participation in the Lord’s Supper—remains vital for covenant renewal.
• Holistic Obedience. As in ancient Israel, true worship joins obedience, generosity, and remembrance; ministry that separates these elements neglects the comprehensive nature of covenant life.
• Mercy in Judgment. Deuteronomy 20:13 reminds ministry leaders that divine justice discriminates between combatants and noncombatants, guiding Christians in ethical reflection on warfare, law, and societal defense.

זָכוּר thus underscores male covenant responsibility, anticipates Christ’s representative work, and instructs the church in worship, leadership, and ethical discernment.

זְכ֣וּרְךָ֔ זְכוּרְךָ֜ זְכוּרָ֖הּ זכורה זכורך zə·ḵū·rāh zə·ḵū·rə·ḵā zechuRah zeChurecha zəḵūrāh zəḵūrəḵāInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts