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,
does not only denote the entire terrestrial planet, but is also used of some of the
earth’s component parts. English words like
$
$
, and
transfer its
meaning into our language. Quite frequently, it refers to an area occupied by a nation or
tribe. So we read of “the land of Egypt,” “the land of the Philistines,” “the land of Israel,”
“the land of Benjamin,” and so on (Gen. 47:13; Zech. 2:5; 2 Kings 5:2, 4; Judg. 21:21).
Israel is said to live “in the land of the Lord” (Lev. 25:33f.; Hos. 9:13). When the people
arrived at its border, Moses reminded them that it would be theirs only because the Lord
drove out the other nations to “give you their land for an inheritance” (Deut. 4:38). Moses
promised that God would make its soil productive, for “He will give rain for your land”
so that it would be “a fruitful land,” “a land flowing with milk and honey, a land of wheat
and barley” (Deut. 11:13-15; 8:7-9; Jer. 2:7).
The Hebrew noun may also be translated “the ground” (Job 2:13; Amos 3:5; Gen.
24:52; Ezek. 43:14). When God executes judgment, “He brings down the wicked to the
ground” (Ps. 147:6,
NASB
).
TO EAT
A. Verb.
(
'
, 398), “to eat, feed, consume, devour.” This verb occurs in all Semitic
languages (except Ethiopic) and in all periods, from the early Akkadian to the latest
Hebrew. The word occurs about 810 times in Old Testament Hebrew and 9 times in
Aramaic.
Essentially, this root refers to the “consumption of food by man or animals.” In Gen.
3:6, we read that Eve took of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and
“ate” it. The function of eating is presented along with seeing, hearing, and smelling as
one of the basic functions of living (Deut. 4:28). “Eating,” as every other act of life, is
under God’s control; He stipulates what may or may not be eaten (Gen. 1:29). After the
Flood, man was allowed to “eat” meat (Gen. 9:3). But under the Mosaic covenant, God
stipulated that certain foods were not to be “eaten” (Lev. 11; Deut. 14)while others were
permissible. This distinction is certainly not new, inasmuch as it is mentioned prior to the
Flood (Gen. 7:2; cf. Gen. 6:19). A comparison of these two passages demonstrates how
the Bible can speak in general terms, with the understanding that certain limitations are
included. Hence, Noah was commanded to bring into the ark two of every kind (Gen.
6:19), while the Bible tells us that this meant two of every unclean and fourteen of every
clean animal (Gen. 7:2). Thus, Gen. 9:3 implies that man could “eat” only the clean
animals.
This verb is often used figuratively with overtones of destroying something or
someone. So the sword, fire, and forest are said to “consume” men. The things
“consumed” may include such various things as land (Gen. 3:17), fields (Isa. 1:7),
offerings (Deut. 18:1), and a bride’s purchase price (Gen. 31:15).
*
might also
connote bearing the results of an action (Isa. 3:10).
The word can refer not only to “eating” but to the entire concept “room and board” (2
Sam. 9:11, 13), the special act of “feasting” (Eccl. 10:16), or the entire activity of
“earning a living” (Amos 7:12; cf. Gen. 3:19). In Dan. 3:8 and 6:24, “to eat one’s pieces”
is to charge someone maliciously. “To eat another’s flesh,” used figuratively, refers to
tearing him to pieces or “killing him” (Ps. 27:2), although
may also be used