אֲרַק
𐤀𐤓𐤒
ʼăraq
H778 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Aramaic noun meaning 'earth' or 'land,' used to denote the physical ground, soil, or the terrestrial world in contrast to the heavens; in various contexts, it can refer to the material planet, inhabited territory, or a specific land or region.
Semantic Range
earth (the planet), ground, soil, land as territory or region, inhabited land, world
Root / Etymology
Derived from the Aramaic root ארק, corresponding functionally to the Hebrew root ארץ (ʾrṣ), meaning 'earth' or 'land.' The word is not built from a native Hebrew root but is a loan from Aramaic. The form אֲרַק (ʾăraq) is a dialectal substitute for Hebrew אֶרֶץ (ʾereṣ).
Historical & Contextual Notes
Appears in the Aramaic sections of the Hebrew Bible, especially in late biblical texts such as Ezra and Daniel. In contrast to Hebrew אֶרֶץ (ʾereṣ), which is frequent throughout the Hebrew corpus, אֲרַק is restricted to Aramaic passages and carries a nearly identical sense within those texts. It can refer broadly to 'the earth' as the world, but also denotes 'land' in political, geographic, or economic senses (e.g., 'the land of Israel,' 'the land of Babylon'). English translations frequently render both אֲרַק and אֶרֶץ as 'earth' or 'land,' though the base language of the passage sometimes influences nuance. The use of the term reflects the late biblical Aramaic as used in Persian and early Hellenistic periods, contrasting with earlier Hebrew usage. There is no religious or ethnic connotation inherent in the term itself. Later Jewish Aramaic and Syriac also use related forms with the same basic meaning.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
(Aramaic) by transmutation for אֲרַע; the earth; earth.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
ארק (ʾ-r-q) — earth, land, ground
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H778-01 |
וְ/אַרְקָ֖/א | veareqa | AC/Ncfsd/Td |
and the earth | and the earth | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H778-01 |
Jeremiah 10:11 | וְ/אַרְקָ֖/א | veareqa | AC/Ncfsd/Td |
and the earth | and the earth |