γῆ

Meaning:

Soil (e.g. )

Land (e.g. )

Country

Earth (e.g. )

Feminine noun. Connected to the English words “ground”, “geometry” and “geology”.

It occurs throughout the LXX and the New Testament (approximately 250 times in the New Testament) and its meaning varies subtly on context, for example, in the LXX:

In , God made the heaven and the earth (γῆν). Here the word refers to the whole of the world, all land. γῆν is translated from the Hebrew אָ֫רֶץ

In , God formed the man from the dust (γῆς) of the ground. Here the word refers to the soil and is translated from the Hebrew אֲדָמָה

And in , God calls Abram to leave his land (γῆς). Here the word refers to his country or territory and is translated from the Hebrew אֶרֶץ

The word γῆ (like אֶרֶץ) is intimately related to οὐρανὸς (שָׁמַיִם) and when these two words are brought together they indicate “everything”.

Forms

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ἡ γῆ	αἱ γαῖαι
Genitive	τῆς γῆς	τῶν γαιῶν
Dative	τῇ γῇ	ταῖς γαίαις
Accusative	τὴν γῆν	τὰς γαίας
Vocative	γῆ	γαῖαι