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Can 'erets refer to the entire earth or just the entire land mass (or part thereof?)

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  • Geert van den Bos
    replied
    Originally posted by Quantum Weirdness View Post
    I heard an argument awhile back (I don't know if it was from JPH or not) that erets doesn't mean the entire planet earth but just a land mass. Can any of you all weigh in on your opinions of this?

    Here's a lexicon definition:

    http://www.studylight.org/lex/heb/hwview.cgi?n=776
    Genesis 1:9-10 says:
    And God said, "Let the water that is beneath the heavens gather into one place, and let the dry land appear," and it was so. And God called the dry land earth


    So "earth" seems to be that what is insoluble in water.

    If you accept water as to be symbol of time, then you can see earth as the hard core of time, the concrete reality that only exists in the here and now.

    Hebrew "arets" can be seen as derived from "ruts"= run, so earth as "I do run" -- Faster than the eye-- even faster than light.


    Genesis 8:7,
    And he sent forth the raven, and it went out, back and forth until the waters dried up off the earth. i.e. all the days until the end of time.

    Leave a comment:


  • Just Some Dude
    replied
    Very illuminating, especially when thinking of the Flood. Thank you Reese.

    Leave a comment:


  • John Reece
    replied
    Originally posted by Quantum Weirdness View Post
    I heard an argument awhile back (I don't know if it was from JPH or not) that erets doesn't mean the entire planet earth but just a land mass. Can any of you all weigh in on your opinions of this?
    The semantic range of אֶרֶץ (ʾereṣ) includes both options mentioned above, and more, with the meaning determined by context. Here is the entry in HALOT:
    אֶרֶץ
    (about 2400 times), Sam.M59 ʾāreṣ: Sec. αρσ (Brönno 125): MHb., Ug. arṣ, also earth-god (UT p. 544), Ph. Mo. DISO 25; Akk. erṣetu, OAkk. arṣatu; Arm. (→ BArm.) אַרְקָא and אַרְעָא; OSArb. ʾrḍ, Arb. ʾarḍ, Tigr. (Wb. 360a) ʾard (d !): הָאָרֶץ, (BL 263m, Pal. hāreṣ Beer-M. §22, 3a), ‏אָרֶץ‎, locv. ‏אַרְצָה‎ and ‏אָרְצָה‎, (also in cs.; BL 527n, 528t :: Beer-M. §22, 3c) Ug. arṣh: ‏צֶךָ‎/‏אַרְצְךָ‎, ‏ת‎(‏וֹ‎)‏אֲרָצֹ‎, ‏אַרְצוֹת‎, ‏אַרְצֹתָם‎; fem., GK §122k; Rost Fschr. Procksch 130ff: —1. ground, earth, ‏בְּתוֹךְ הָאָרֶץ in the ground 2C 324 (Rudolph, Sept. ‏הָעִיר); ‏אַרְצָה‎ on the ground (humi) with ‏הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה Gn 182 and oft., with ‏נָפַל 4414, with ‏קָדַד Ex 348, with שִׁחֵת Gn 389, 1913b; חִלֵּל לָאָ׳ down to the ground Ps 747 8940; especially clay (Kelso §2) Ju 637–40, בַּעֲלִיל לָאָ׳ (→ Kelso §93f) Ps 127; —2. piece of ground Gn 2315 Ex 2310; —3. territory, country: אֶ׳ מִצְרַיִם and ‏אֶ׳ כְּנַעַן‎ Gn 4713; ‏אֶ׳ יְהוּדָה Am 712, ‏אֶ׳ יִשְׂרָאֵל 1S 1319, ‏אֶ׳ הָאֱמֹרִי 210, ‏אֶ׳ פְּלִשְׁתִּים Zeph 25; אֶ׳ חַיִּים Ps 2713 1169, my (Y.’s) land Jr 27 1618 etc.; plural regions, districts 1C 132 (אַרְצוֹת יִשְׂרָ׳, → Delekat VT 14:20); countries: ‏אַרְצוֹת הַגּוֹיִם Is 3718 עַמֵּי הָאֲרָצוֹת (Seeligmann 8729) Ezr 91, גּוֹיֵי הָאֲ׳ 2C 3213, ‏אֱלֹהֵי הָאֲ׳ 2K 1835, ‏מַלְכֵי הָאֲ׳ Ezr 97, מַמְלְכוֹת הָאֲ׳ earthly kingdoms 2C 128; —4. the whole of the the land, the earth: אֶ׳ = הַיַּבָּשָׁה Gn 1:10, the whole earth Am 88f (Maag 127) בָּאָ׳ on earth Pr 1131 (Sept. μόλις, → Gemser 56, 112); הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָ׳ the whole world Gn 21.4a, older אֶ׳ וְשָׁמַיִם Gn 24b Ps 14813 † (Hartmann SchwThU 30:221ff); בֵּין הָאָ׳ וּבֵין־הַשָּׁ׳ = in the air (only MHb. JArm. and NHb. use אָוֵיר < ἀήρ, Syr. ʾāʾar, Mnd. ʾayar (MdD 14a) Zech 59; —5. תַּחְתִּיּוֹת אֶ׳ depths of the earth Is 4423 Ps 13915 תַּ׳ הָאָ׳ 6310, אֶ׳ תַּחְתִּיּוֹת Ezk 2620 3218.24 and אֶ׳ תַּחְתִּית 3114.16.18, > אֶ׳ underworld (|| ‏שְׁאוֹל, שַׁחַת) Ex 1512 Jr 1713 (rd. וְסוּרֶיךָ, → כתב 6 :: Rudolph) Jon 27 Ps 2230 (rd. יְשֵׁנֵי) 7120 Sir 519, → Gunkel Schöpfung 181; Akk. Schrader Keilins. 636; Tallqvist Totenwelt 8ff; AHw. 245; Ug. Driver myths 135b; —2S 234 rd. מַאֲרִץ (‏ארץ‎); Ps 127 cj. חָרֻץ (Driver Glosses 14778 :: Kelso §94) 163 → Comm.; Jb 3413 and 3712 אַרְצָה rd. ‏אַרְצֹה‎; 3713 rd. מַלֵּא רְצוֹנוֹ; Is 114 and (?) Qoh 58 (→ יתרוֹן) rd. עָרִץ.
    Last edited by John Reece; 01-29-2014, 02:01 PM.

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  • Can 'erets refer to the entire earth or just the entire land mass (or part thereof?)

    I heard an argument awhile back (I don't know if it was from JPH or not) that erets doesn't mean the entire planet earth but just a land mass. Can any of you all weigh in on your opinions of this?

    Here's a lexicon definition:

    http://www.studylight.org/lex/heb/hwview.cgi?n=776
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