Earth

Earth - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

(1.) In the sense of soil or ground, the translation of the word adamah'. In Gen. 9:20 "husbandman" is literally "man of the ground or earth." Altars were to be built of earth (Ex. 20:24). Naaman asked for two mules' burden of earth (2 Kings 5:17), under the superstitious notion that Jehovah, like the gods of the heathen, could be acceptably worshipped only on his own soil.

(2). As the rendering of 'erets, it means the whole world (Gen. 1:2); the land as opposed to the sea (1:10). Erets also denotes a country (21:32); a plot of ground (23:15); the ground on which a man stands (33:3); the inhabitants of the earth (6:1; 11:1); all the world except Israel (2 Chr. 13:9). In the New Testament "the earth" denotes the land of Judea (Matt. 23:35); also things carnal in contrast with things heavenly (John 3:31; Col. 3:1, 2).

Earth - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

EARTH, n. erth.

1. Earth, in its primary sense, signifies the particles which compose the mass of the globe, but more particularly the particles which form the fine mold on the surface of the globe; or it denotes any indefinite mass or portion of that matter. We throw up earth with a spade or plow; we fill a pit or ditch with earth; we form a rampart with earth. This substance being considered, by ancient philosophers, as simple, was called an element; and in popular language, we still hear of the four elements, fire, air,earth, and water.

2. In chimistry, the term earth was, till lately, employed to denote a simple elementary body or substance, tasteless, inodorous, uninflammable and infusible. But it has also been applied to substances which have a very sensible alkaline taste, as lime. The primitive earths are reckoned ten in number, viz, silex, alumin, lime, magnesia, baryte, strontian, zircon, glucin, yttria and thorina. Recent experiments prove that most or all of them are compounds of oxygen with bases, some of which appear to possess the properties of metals. In this case the earths are to be considered as metallic oxyds.

3. The terraqueous globe which we inhabit. The earth is nearly spherical, but a little flatted at the poles, and hence its figure is called an oblate spheroid. It is one of the primary planets, revolving round the sun in an orbit which is between those of Venus and Mars. It is nearly eight thousand miles in diameter, and twenty five thousand miles in circumference. Its distance from the sun is about ninety five millions of miles,and its annual revolution constitutes the year of 365 days, 5 hours, and nearly 49 minutes.

4. The world, as opposed to other scenes of existence.

5. The inhabitants of the globe.

The whole earth was of one language. Gen 11.

6. Dry land, opposed to the sea.

God called the dry land earth. Gen 1.

7. Country; region; a distinct part of the globe.

In this sense, land or soil is more generally used.

In scripture, earth is used for a part of the world. Ezra 1:2.

8. The ground; the surface of the earth. He fell to the earth. The ark was lifted above the earth.

In the second month--was the earth dried. Gen 8.

9. In scripture, things on the earth, are carnal, sensual, temporary things; opposed to heavenly, spiritual or divine things.

10. Figuratively, a low condition. Rev 12.

11. [from ear, L. aro, to plow.] The act of turning up the ground in tillage. [Not used.]

EARTH, v.t. To hide in the earth.

The fox is earthed.

1. To cover with earth or mold.

EARTH, v.i. To retire under ground; to burrow. Here foxes earthed.

Land - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

LAND, n.

1. Earth, or the solid matter which constitutes the fixed part of the surface of the globe, in distinction from the sea or other waters, which constitute the fluid or movable part. Hence we say, the globe is terraqueous, consisting of land and water. The seaman in a long voyage longs to see land.

2. Any portion of the solid, superficial part of the globe, whether a kingdom or country, or a particular region. The United States is denominated the land of freedom.

Go, view the land, even Jericho. Josh 2.

3. Any small portion of the superficial part of the earth or ground. We speak of the quantity of land in a manor. Five hundred acres of land is a large farm.

4. Ground; soil, or the superficial part of the earth in respect to its nature or quality; as good land; poor land; moist or dry land.

5. Real Estate. A traitor forfeits all his lands and tenements.

6. The inhabitants of a country or region; a nation or people.

These answers in the silent night received, the king himself divulged, the land believed.

7. The ground left unplowed between furrows, is by some of our farmers called a land.

To make the land,

To make land, In seaman's language, is to discover land from sea, as the ship approaches it.

To shut in the land, to lose sight of the land left, by the intervention of a point or promontory.

To set the land, to see by the compass how it bears from the ship.

LAND, n. Urine; whence the old expression, land dam, to kill. Obs.

LAND, v.t. to set on shore; to disembark; to debark; as, to land troops from a ship or boat; to land goods.

LAND, v.i. To go on shore from a ship or boat; to disembark.

urth ('adhamah, 'erets, 'aphar; ge, oikoumene):

In a hilly limestone country like Palestine, the small amount of iron oxide in the rocks tends to be oxidized, and thereby to give a prevailing reddish color to the soil. This is especially the case on relatively barren hills where there is little organic matter present to prevent reddening and give a more blackish tinge.

'Adhamah (compare 'adham, "a man," and Adam) is from 'adham, "to be red," and is used in the senses: "earth" (Ex 20:24), "land" (Ps 105:35), a "land" or country (Isa 14:2), "ground" (Ge 4:11), "the earth" (Ge 7:4).

The word most in use is 'erets, undoubtedly from a most ancient root occurring in many languages, as English "earth," German Erde, Arabic 'ard. It is used in most of the senses of 'adhamah, but less as "soil" and more as "the earth" as a part of the universe; frequently with shamayim, "heavens," as in Ge 1:1: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

`Aphar and its root word and derivatives are closely paralleled in the Arabic, and refer mainly to "dust" or "dry earth" (compare Arabic `afir, "to be of the color of dust"; `afar "dust"; ya`fur, "a gazelle"; Hebrew `opher, "a gazelle"). Compare Ge 2:7: "Yahweh God formed man of the dust of the ground"; Job 2:12: ".... sprinkled dust upon their heads"; Ps 104:29: ".... they die, and return to their dust"; Ge 18:27: "dust and ashes."

In the Septuagint and New Testament, ge is used in nearly all cases, oikoumene being used a few times for the "habitable earth," as in Lu 21:26 the King James Version.

See further ANTHROPOLOGY; ASTRONOMY; EVOLUTION; WORLD.

Alfred Ely Day

((1) 'erets;

(2) 'adhamah;

(3) sadheh,

"a piece of land";

(4) ge, "earth";

(5) agros, "field";

(6) chora, "region";

(7) chorion, diminutive of chora;

(8) xeros, "dry land";

(9) 'ezrach, "native" the King James Version "born in the land," "born among you," the Revised Version (British and American) "home-born" (Le 19:34; 14:16; Nu 15:30); "like a green tree in its native soil" (Ps 37:35)):

'Erets occurs hundreds of times and is used in much the same way as 'adhamah, which also occurs often: e.g. "land of Egypt," 'erets mitsrayim (Ge 13:10), and 'adhmath mitsrayim (Ge 47:20). The other words occur less often, and are used in the senses indicated above.

See COUNTRY; EARTH.

Alfred Ely Day

1. Adamah is the earth in the sense of soil or ground, particularly as being susceptible of cultivation. (Genesis 2:7)
2. Erets is applied in a more or less extended sense-- (1) to the whole world, (Genesis 1:1) (2) to land as opposed to sea, (Genesis 1:10) (3) to a country, (Genesis 21:32) (4) to a plot of ground, (Genesis 23:15) and (5) to the ground on which a man stands. (Genesis 33:3) The two former senses alone concern us, the fairest involving an inquiry into the opinions of the Hebrews on cosmogony, the second on geography.
3. cosmogony. -- (1) The Hebrew cosmogony is based upon the leading principle that the universe exists, not independently of God, nor yet co-existent with God, nor yet in opposition to him as a hostile element, but dependently upon him, subsequently to him and in subjection to him. (2) Creation was regarded as a progressive work --a gradual development from the inferior to the superior orders of things.
4. Geography. --There seems to be traces of the same ideas as prevailed among the Greeks, that the world was a disk, (Isaiah 40:22) bordered by the ocean, with Jerusalem as its centre, like Delphi as the navel, or, according to another view, the highest point of the world. As to the size of the earth, the Hebrews had but a very indefinite notion.

Definition

The term “earth” refers to the world on which human beings and other living things live. In the Bible, this term is sometimes translated as “land” when used in a general way to refer to the ground or the soil, or when used in a specific way to refer to a particular geographical area, usually a country or nation.

• In the Bible, the term “earth” is often paired with the term “heaven” as a way of indicating the abode of humankind on the earth in contrast with the abode of God in heaven.
• This term is usually translated “land” when paired with the name of a people group to denote the territory belonging to those people, such as “the land of Canaan.”
• The term “earthly” is sometimes used to refer to things that are physical and/or visible in contrast to things that are non-physical and/or invisible.

Translation Suggestions

• This term can be translated by the word or phrase that the local language or nearby national languages use to refer to the planet earth on which we live.
• Depending on the context, “earth” could also be translated as “world” or “land” or “dirt” or “soil.”

• Ways to translate “earthly” could include “physical” or “things of this earth” or “visible.”

(See also: world, heaven)

Bible References

• 1 Kings 1:38-40
• 2 Chronicles 2:11-12
• Daniel 4:35
• Luke 12:51
• Matthew 6:10
• Matthew 11:25
• Zechariah 6:5

Word Data

• Strong’s: H0127, H0772, H0776, H0778, H2789, H3007, H3335, H6083, H7494, G10930, G19190, G27090, G28860, G36250, G45780, G55170