The Hebrew zarah means to scatter, to disperse, or to winnow grain. It is used for the agricultural act of tossing grain into the wind to separate chaff, and metaphorically for God scattering nations or the wicked.
Zarah provides one of the Bible's most powerful images of divine judgment. Just as the farmer winnows grain — separating what is valuable from what is worthless — God separates the righteous from the wicked, the pure from the corrupt. The prophets used it to describe the exile (Ezekiel 22:15) and the dispersion of enemies (Psalm 18:42). It also carries hope: what is scattered can be regathered (Deuteronomy 30:3).