Zara is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Zara, also known as Zerah, was one of the twin sons born to Judah and Tamar, and he is named in the genealogy of Jesus Christ recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. His story belongs to the book of Genesis, where Judah, the son of Jacob, fathered twins by Tamar, his daughter-in-law. The source note identifies Zara as one of those twin sons, and Matthew’s genealogy preserves his name among the ancestors of the Messiah.
Zara’s birth was marked by an unusual event. As Tamar was in labor, one of the twins put out his hand, and the midwife tied a scarlet thread on it, saying, “This came out first.” But the hand was drawn back, and his brother came out before him. That brother was named Pharez, meaning a breach, and afterward Zara came out with the scarlet thread upon his hand. Scripture gives no further account of Zara’s deeds, words, or life beyond his birth and his place in the family line.
What Scripture says of Zara is therefore brief but significant. He is remembered as a son of Judah and Tamar, a twin overtaken by his brother at the moment of birth, and a link in the genealogy that Matthew traces from Abraham through David to Jesus. His appearance in the New Testament is not as an actor in a story but as a name in the lineage of Christ, showing that God’s purposes run through ordinary and even overlooked lives.
The Name
The name Zara is the Greek form, appearing in the King James New Testament, of the Hebrew name Zerah. The Hebrew root is commonly understood to be related to a word meaning “rising” or “dawning,” as of light, and so the name is often explained as meaning “rising” or “brightness.” This meaning is widely accepted among scholars and is reflected in several standard reference works. It should be noted, however, that the name also appears elsewhere in Scripture for other individuals, and the precise nuance of the root can carry the sense of a rising or breaking forth, as of light or of a plant. The meaning “rising” or “dawning” is the one most firmly established for this name.
A Closing Thought
Zara’s life is barely a footnote in Scripture, yet his name stands in the family line of Jesus Christ. He was the twin who reached out first but was drawn back, overtaken by his brother, and remembered chiefly for a scarlet thread and a place in a genealogy. There is a quiet comfort here for those whose lives feel small or overlooked. God’s story does not depend on our prominence. He weaves His purposes through ordinary people, and a name recorded in a lineage can be a lasting witness that no life held by Him is forgotten.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: New
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Matthew 1:3 — And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;