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אֲדָמָה

𐤀𐤃𐤌𐤄

ʼădâmâh

H127 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Soil, ground, cultivated land, or earth, particularly as the surface layer suitable for agriculture or habitation. In broader usage, refers to land as a geographical, agricultural, or territorial domain. At times it may denote a specific country's land or territory distinguished from wilderness, mountains, or water, though the primary sense focuses on the arable ground or cultivated surface of the earth.

Semantic Range

soil, cultivated ground, arable land, earth (as opposed to water or sky), land (in a local or regional sense), the surface layer of the earth, territory or country (especially agriculturally productive or inhabited land)

Root / Etymology

From the root אדם (ʼ-d-m), primarily meaning 'to be red' or 'reddish', possibly reflecting the color of fertile soil in some Near Eastern regions. אֲדָמָה is derived as a feminine noun form referring to earth or ground, notably as the surface layer for cultivation. The derivation denotes the physical material and its association with life and human origins.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, אֲדָמָה most often refers to soil or arable land as the locus of agricultural activity and the source of human sustenance. Its use is distinct from אֶרֶץ (ʼereṣ), which typically designates land in the broader sense—ranging from territory to the whole earth or inhabited world. אֲדָמָה appears in the creation narrative as the source material from which the first human (אָדָם, ʼādām) is formed, reflecting a conceptual link between humans and the productive earth. In legal and ritual contexts, אֲדָמָה serves as the ground that receives blood or other offerings, underscoring its role in the cycle of life, death, and fertility. Over time, while the word's agricultural and territorial sense remains, it occasionally takes on a metonymic meaning for territory or domain, particularly in poetic or prophetic texts. English translations routinely render אֲדָמָה as 'ground' or 'soil', but sometimes as 'land' or 'earth', which can obscure its agricultural nuance. KJV and some other translations use 'husbandman' or 'husbandry' in connection with this term, but these are interpretive renderings and not direct translations of the word itself. In contrast to אֶרֶץ, אֲדָמָה is less likely to indicate nation or peoplehood, focusing instead on the material or cultivated ground.

Translation Consistency

primary "land" 47 occurrences

“Land” is the most natural, versatile single-word rendering that covers the primary SILEX sense (soil/cultivated ground) and the broader territorial/country meaning. It reads well in English across contexts, matches the high-frequency P2 renderings (land/ground/soil), and avoids the narrow agricultural sense of “soil” while still fitting arable or inhabited ground.

Alternatives (3 occurrences):
"earth" (3x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from אָדַם; soil (from its general redness); country, earth, ground, husband(-man) (-ry), land.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.

Root Family

אדם (Adam) — to be red, to become red, to display redness

Root אדם to be red, to produce, to be like the earth
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H119 אָדַם they became red
H120 אָדָם human being
H121 אָדָם Adam
H122 אָדֹם reddish
H123 אֱדֹם in Red-land

Word Forms

20 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H127-12 הָ/אֲדָמָ֑ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land 113
H127-03 אַדְמַת ademat HNcfsc the land soil of land of 26
H127-05 אַדְמָתָ֑/ם adematam HNcfsc/Sp3mp their land their cultivated ground their land 17
H127-06 אַ֠דְמָתֶ/ךָ adematekha HNcfsc/Sp2ms of your land your cultivated ground your cultivated land 12
H127-10 אַדְמָת/וֹ֙ ademato HNcfsc/Sp3ms his land his cultivated land his cultivated land 12
H127-01 אֲדָמָ֖ה adamah HNcfsa of earth arable ground arable land 11
H127-07 אַדְמַתְ/כֶֽם adematekhem HNcfsc/Sp2mp your land your cultivated soil your land 6
H127-17 וַ/אֲדָמָ֖ה vaadamah HC/Ncfsa and dirt and cultivated ground and cultivated land 6
H127-08 אַדְמָתֵ֔/נוּ adematenu HNcfsc/Sp1cp our land our cultivated land our cultivated land 4
H127-09 אַדְמָתִ/י֙ ademati HNcfsc/Sp1cs my land my cultivated ground my cultivated land 3

Occurrences in Scripture

225 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H127-12 Genesis 1:25 הָֽ/אֲדָמָ֖ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa of the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 2:5 הָֽ/אֲדָמָֽה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 2:6 הָֽ/אֲדָמָֽה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the ground/fertile soil the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 2:7 הָ֣/אֲדָמָ֔ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 2:9 הָ֣/אֲדָמָ֔ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 2:19 הָֽ/אֲדָמָ֗ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 3:17 הָֽ/אֲדָמָה֙ haadamah HTd/Ncfsa is the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 3:19 הָ֣/אֲדָמָ֔ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 3:23 הָ֣/אֲדָמָ֔ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-01 Genesis 4:2 אֲדָמָֽה adamah HNcfsa of the ground arable ground arable land
H127-12 Genesis 4:3 הָֽ/אֲדָמָ֛ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa of the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 4:10 הָֽ/אֲדָמָֽה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 4:11 הָֽ/אֲדָמָה֙ haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 4:12 הָ֣/אֲדָמָ֔ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 4:14 הָֽ/אֲדָמָ֔ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 5:29 הָ֣/אֲדָמָ֔ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 6:1 הָֽ/אֲדָמָ֑ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa of the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 6:7 הָֽ/אֲדָמָ֔ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa of the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 6:20 הָֽ/אֲדָמָ֖ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa of the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 7:4 הָֽ/אֲדָמָֽה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 7:8 הָֽ/אֲדָמָֽה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the earth the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 7:23 הָֽ/אֲדָמָ֗ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa of the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 8:8 הָֽ/אֲדָמָֽה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 8:13 הָֽ/אֲדָמָֽה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 8:21 הָֽ/אֲדָמָה֙ haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 9:2 הָֽ/אֲדָמָ֛ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa on the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 9:20 הָֽ/אֲדָמָ֑ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa of the soil the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 12:3 הָ/אֲדָמָֽה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa of the earth the cultivated ground the earth
H127-12 Genesis 19:25 הָ/אֲדָמָֽה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa on the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 28:14 הָ/אֲדָמָ֖ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa of the earth the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Genesis 28:15 הָ/אֲדָמָ֖ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa this land the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-19 Genesis 47:18 וְ/אַדְמָתֵֽ/נוּ veadematenu HC/Ncfsc/Sp1cp and our land and our cultivated land and our land
H127-08 Genesis 47:19 אַדְמָתֵ֔/נוּ adematenu HNcfsc/Sp1cp our land our cultivated land our cultivated land
H127-08 Genesis 47:19 אַדְמָתֵ֖/נוּ adematenu-2 HNcfsc/Sp1cp our land our cultivated land our cultivated land
H127-19 Genesis 47:19 וְ/אַדְמָתֵ֨/נוּ֙ veadematenu HC/Ncfsc/Sp1cp and our land and our cultivated land and our land
H127-20 Genesis 47:19 וְ/הָ/אֲדָמָ֖ה vehaadamah HC/Td/Ncfsa and the land and the cultivated ground and the land
H127-03 Genesis 47:20 אַדְמַ֤ת ademat HNcfsc the land soil of land of
H127-03 Genesis 47:22 אַדְמַ֥ת ademat HNcfsc the land of soil of land of
H127-05 Genesis 47:22 אַדְמָתָֽ/ם adematam HNcfsc/Sp3mp land their cultivated ground their land
H127-07 Genesis 47:23 אַדְמַתְ/כֶ֖ם adematekhem HNcfsc/Sp2mp your land your cultivated soil your land
H127-12 Genesis 47:23 הָ/אֲדָמָֽה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the land the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-03 Genesis 47:26 אַדְמַ֥ת ademat HNcfsc land of soil of land of
H127-03 Genesis 47:26 אַדְמַ֤ת ademat-2 HNcfsc land of soil of land of
H127-03 Exodus 3:5 אַדְמַת ademat HNcfsc is ground of soil of land of
H127-12 Exodus 8:17 הָ/אֲדָמָ֖ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-12 Exodus 10:6 הָ֣/אֲדָמָ֔ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the earth the cultivated ground the earth
H127-12 Exodus 20:12 הָ/אֲדָמָ֔ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa the land the cultivated ground the cultivated land
H127-01 Exodus 20:24 אֲדָמָה֮ adamah HNcfsa of earth arable ground of earth
H127-06 Exodus 23:19 אַדְמָ֣תְ/ךָ֔ adematekha HNcfsc/Sp2ms of your land your cultivated ground your cultivated land
H127-12 Exodus 32:12 הָֽ/אֲדָמָ֑ה haadamah HTd/Ncfsa of the ground the cultivated ground the cultivated land
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