Earth - Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
EARTH in OT usually stands for one or other of the Heb. words ’eretz and ’adâmâh. In AV [Note: Authorized Version.] these are rendered indiscriminately ‘earth’ and ‘ground,’ but RV [Note: Revised Version.] distinguishes them by using, to some extent, ‘earth’ for the former, and ‘ground’ for the latter. Both words have a wide range of meanings, some of which they possess in common, while others are peculiar to each. Thus ’eretz denotes: (a) earth as opposed to heaven (Gen 1:1), and (b) dry land as opposed to sea. (Gen 1:20). ’adâmâh is specially used: (a) for earth as a specific substance (Gen 2:7, 2Ki 5:17); and (b) for the surface of the ground, in such phrases as ‘face of the earth.’ Both words are employed to describe: (a) the soil from which plants grow, ’adâmâh being the more common term in this sense; (b) the whole earth with its inhabitants, for which, however, ’adâmâh is but rarely used; and (c) a land or country, this also being usually expressed by ’eretz. In one or two cases it is doubtful in which of the two last senses ’eretz is to be taken, e.g. Jer 22:29 (EV [Note: English Version.] ‘earth,’ RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ‘land’).In NT the Gr. words for ‘earth’ are gç and oikoumenç, the former having practically all the variety of meanings mentioned above, while the latter denotes specially the whole inhabited earth, and is once used (Heb 2:5) in a still wider sense for the universe of the future. See, further, art. World.
James Patrick.
Consult other dictionaries:
Earth - American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Earth - Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Earth - Easton's Bible Dictionary
Earth - Synonyms of the Old Testament
Earth - Fausset's Bible Dictionary
Earth - The Poor Man’s Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures
Earth - International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Earth - Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Earth - Concise Bible Dictionary
Earth - People's Dictionary of the Bible
Earth - Smith's Bible Dictionary
Earth - A Symbolical Dictionary
Earth - Thompson Chain-Reference Bible
Earth - Vine's Dictionary of New Testament Words
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible was a five-volume Biblical encyclopaedia published 1898–1904.
The full title was A Dictionary of the Bible, dealing with the Language, Literature and Contents, including the Biblical Theology. It was edited by James Hastings, with the assistance of John A. Selbie.