Original Word: צֶמד
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: tsemed
Pronunciation: tseh'-med
Phonetic Spelling: (tseh'-med)
KJV: acre, couple, X together, two (donkeys), yoke (of oxen)
NASB: pair, pairs, yoke, acre, acres, couple, team
Word Origin: [a yoke or team (i.e. pair)]

1. hence, an acre (i.e. day's task for a yoke of cattle to plough)

acre, couple, together, two donkeys, yoke of oxen

A yoke or team (i.e. Pair); hence, an acre (i.e. Day's task for a yoke of cattle to plough) -- acre, couple, X together, two (donkeys), yoke (of oxen).

Word Origin
from tsamad
Definition
a couple, pair
NASB Translation
acre (1), acres (1), couple (1), pair (3), pairs (3), team (1), together (1), two (1), yoke (3).

צֶ֫מֶד noun masculine^{1Kings 19:19} couple, pair; — ׳צ construct Judges 19:3 +; suffix צִמְדּוֺ Jeremiah 51:23; plural צְמָדִים 1 Kings 19:19; 2 Kings 9:25 (but see below); construct צִמְדֵּי Isaiah 5:10 (Ges^{§ 93m}); —

1 couple, pair, usually of animals, חֲמֹרִים ׳צ Judges 19:3,10; 2 Samuel 16:1; בָּקָר (הַ) ׳צ span of oxen 1 Samuel 11:7; 1 Kings 19:21, plural of more than one span 1 Kings 19:19 (ploughing), Job 1:3; Job 42:12; צֶמֶד מְּרָדִים 2 Kings 5:17; מָּרָשִׁים ׳צ Isaiah 21:7,9 a pair of horsemen; plural also of one pair of riders 2 Kings 9:25 (but read probably צֶמֶד, so Kit); ׳צ alone = span (of oxen) Jeremiah 51:23.

2 a measure of land (only square measure in OT) like acre; originally apparently what a span can plough (in a day; see Now^{Archaeology i. 202} Benz^{Archaeology 208}; compare modern faddan, = what, can be ploughed in a season Schumacher^{ZPV xii (1889), 163 f.}, Across Jordan 22, or in a day Bergheim^{PEQ, 1894, 192}, Ency. Bib.^ACRE), שָׂדֶה ׳צ 1 Samuel 14:14 (on text see Dr HPS); צִמְדֵּיכֶֿרֶם Isaiah 5:10.

Essential Idea

צֶמֶד signifies a pair joined for coordinated labor or movement. Scripture applies the term to yoked oxen and donkeys, paired horses in chariots, riders travelling side-by-side, and even to the strip of land a yoke of animals can plow. The vocabulary of “pairing” therefore frames scenes of daily husbandry, economic wealth, warfare, prophetic warning, and covenant devotion.

Agriculture and Husbandry

In the agrarian society of ancient Israel, the paired team was indispensable. Oxen and donkeys bore both the physical load of plowing and the symbolic weight of prosperity. Job’s 500 (Job 1:3) and later 1,000 yoke of oxen (Job 42:12) set the gold standard of pastoral blessing. Elisha’s family operated “twelve yoke of oxen … and he was with the twelfth pair” (1 Kings 19:19), demonstrating substantial resources that he willingly sacrificed to follow Elijah (1 Kings 19:21). In ordinary travel the Levite of Judges 19 journeys “with a pair of donkeys” (Judges 19:3, 10), illustrating routine dependence on such pairings.

Economic Measurement

צֶמֶד also becomes a unit of land or produce: “about half an acre of land” (1 Samuel 14:14) and “ten acres of vineyard” (Isaiah 5:10) both literally read “half a yoke” and “ten yokes.” The term reminds readers that production is tied to the labor capacity of an ox-team; God alone grants increase, so a vineyard of “ten yokes” yielding only a bath of wine underlines divine judgment upon greed and injustice.

Military and Political Uses

Saul asserts royal authority by dismembering “a pair of oxen” (1 Samuel 11:7), summoning Israel to war. Isaiah’s oracles picture reconnaissance: “chariots with teams of horsemen” (Isaiah 21:7, 9). Jehu recalls the day he and Bidkar “rode together behind Ahab” (2 Kings 9:25), a grim partnership that saw Ahab marked for death. Jeremiah widens the motif: “With you I shatter the farmer and his oxen” (Jeremiah 51:23)—Babylon will be judged at every level, from governance to agriculture.

Prophetic and Poetic Imagery

Prophets employ צֶמֶד to contrast human effort with the LORD’s sovereignty. Isaiah’s truncated yields (Isaiah 5:10) illustrate futility apart from righteousness. The watchman’s double teams (Isaiah 21:7, 9) herald Babylon’s fall, reinforcing that empires yoked in power cannot stand when God decrees their end. These texts give preachers rich material on the limitations of human alliances.

Lessons in Discipleship

When Elisha slaughters his own pair of oxen (1 Kings 19:21), he burns the bridge to former security. The paired animals that once defined his livelihood become a feast for the people and a farewell to self-reliance. Pastors may draw parallels to Christ’s call, “Take My yoke upon you” (Matthew 11:29), highlighting the exchange of old bonds for partnership with the Savior.

Ministry Applications

1. Stewardship: Job’s multiplied yokes remind believers that wealth is both gift and trust to be held loosely.
2. Leadership: Saul’s severed oxen model decisive action, yet his later disobedience warns that outward authority must be matched by inner submission.
3. Mission: Elisha’s sacrifice encourages wholehearted commitment; the paired oxen become a metaphor for leaving all to serve.
4. Unity: The image of two animals pulling one plow lends itself to teaching on marriage, ministry teams, and church cooperation—laboring side-by-side under Christ’s easy yoke.

Summary

צֶמֶד threads through Scripture as a quiet yet powerful emblem of unity in work, strength in pairing, and the boundaries of human endeavor. Whether plowing fields, measuring land, drawing chariots, or symbolizing judgment, the paired team continually points to the greater truth that true fruitfulness comes when one is rightly yoked to the purposes of God.

וְצִמְדּ֑וֹ וְצֶ֣מֶד וְצֶ֨מֶד וצמד וצמדו צְמָדִים֙ צִמְדֵּי־ צֶ֖מֶד צֶ֚מֶד צֶ֤מֶד צֶ֥מֶד צֶ֧מֶד צֶ֨מֶד צֶֽמֶד־ צמד צמד־ צמדי־ צמדים ṣə·mā·ḏîm ṣe·meḏ ṣe·meḏ- ṣəmāḏîm ṣemeḏ ṣemeḏ- ṣim·dê- ṣimdê- tzemaDim Tzemed tzimdei veTzemed vetzimDo wə·ṣe·meḏ wə·ṣim·dōw wəṣemeḏ wəṣimdōwInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts