seed: offspring
Sperma denotes seed in sowing and growth, and offspring or a continuing line of descent in Scripture.
The dominant use denotes offspring or a line of descent, especially in statements about Abraham, David, and promised descendants. It also denotes literal seed that is sown or grows, while a few contexts use seed figuratively for the sons of the kingdom or for what remains in one born of God.
Senses in use
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Offspring and line of descent · dominant
In Acts 7:5 the dative singular form occurs in the promise of possession for Abraham's offspring after him, and in Romans 1:3 the genitive singular form marks descent from David. Galatians 3:16 places the term in a promise to Abraham and contrasts the wording addressed to many with wording addressed to one; the APB renders the clause with “seed” and “seeds.”
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Seed sown and growing · common
In Matthew 13:24 the accusative singular form is what a human sows in his field, while Mark 4:31 and Matthew 13:32 use the genitive plural form in describing the mustard seed among the seeds on the earth. In 1 Corinthians 15:38, the plural form occurs where God gives each kind of seed its own body.
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Parabolic seed identified with people · occasional
In Matthew 13:37 the accusative singular form is the good seed sown by the son of man; the following explanation in Matthew 13:38 identifies the good seed with the sons of the kingdom. The APB thus presents the seed image within the parable and then supplies its stated identification.
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Seed remaining in a person · rare
In 1 John 3:9, the nominative singular form is said to remain in the person born of God, in a clause connected with not practicing sin. The APB renders the clause “his seed remains in him,”.
In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the verses, the APB commonly presents the term as “offspring” in descent and family-line clauses, and as “seed” in sowing, growth, and promise clauses. It also uses “seeds” in Galatians 3:16; these are verse-level renderings rather than a word-by-word alignment.