Earth

denotes (a) "earth as arable land," e.g., Matthew 13:5,8,23; in 1—Corinthians 15:47 it is said of the "earthly" material of which "the first man" was made, suggestive of frailty; (b) "the earth as a whole, the world," in contrast, whether to the heavens, e.g., Matthew 5:18,35 , or to heaven, the abode of God, e.g., Matthew 6:19 , where the context suggests the "earth" as a place characterized by mutability and weakness; in Colossians 3:2 the same contrast is presented by the word "above;" in John 3:31 (RV, "of the earth," for AV, "earthly") it describes one whose origin and nature are "earthly" and whose speech is characterized thereby, in contrast with Christ as the One from heaven; in Colossians 3:5 the physical members are said to be "upon the earth," as a sphere where, as potential instruments of moral evils, they are, by metonymy, spoken of as the evils themselves; (c) "the inhabited earth," e.g., Luke 21:35; Acts 1:8; 8:33; 10:12; 11:6; 17:26; 22:22; Hebrews 11:13; Revelation 13:8 . In the following the phrase "on the earth" signifies "among men," Luke 12:49; 18:8; John 17:4; (d) "a country, territory," e.g., Luke 4:25; John 3:22; (e) "the ground," e.g., Matthew 10:29; Mark 4:26 , RV, "(upon the) earth," for AV, "(into the) ground;" (f) "land," e.g., Mark 4:1; John 21:8,9,11 . Cp. Eng. words beginning with ge, e.g., "geodetic," "geodesy," "geology," "geometry," "geography." See COUNTRY , GROUND , LAND , WORLD.

the present participle, Passive Voice, of oikeo, "to dwell, inhabit," denotes the "inhabited earth." It is translated "world" in every place where it has this significance, save in Luke 21:26 , AV, where it is translated "earth." See WORLD.