The Greek proper name Zara (Ζαρά) is the NT form of the Hebrew Zerah (זֶרַח), meaning 'rising' or 'dawning' (as of the sun). It appears once in the NT — Matthew 1:3 — in the genealogy of Jesus. Zerah was the twin brother of Perez, born to Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38:27–30).
Matthew's genealogy of Jesus includes Zara alongside his twin brother Perez: 'Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar' (Matt 1:3). The mention of both twins is unusual — only Perez is in the direct Messianic line — and the inclusion of Tamar is one of four women (along with Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba) in Matthew's genealogy, each of whom had an irregular or scandalous story. The birth narrative in Genesis 38:27–30, where Zerah's hand emerged first with a scarlet thread but Perez actually came out first, is one of Scripture's most vivid pictures of God's sovereign disruption of expected order.