adamah (ad-aw-maw) [127]

Meaning
a.  From 119; soil (from its generally redness)
b.  The productive agent

1.  Initially this noun represents:

a.  Arable "ground) (probably red in colour) supporting water and plants.  Genesis 2:6, "But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground". [NB: soil contains 70% moisture? Since soil is the source of my body which is made up of 70% water].

b.  Source of Adam's body.  Genesis 2:7, " And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

c. The actual soil itself. 2 Kings 5:17, "And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord."

d. Ground. Exodus 3:5, "And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."

e.  Property or possession.  Zechariah 2:12, "And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again."

2.  A relationship exists between adam, "man" and the "adamah".  If Adam were to remain obdedient to God, the "ground" would give forth its fruit. Genesis 2:6, "But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground."

Sin disrupted the harmony between man and the "ground", and the "ground" no longer responded to man's care. (cf Genesis 2:15, "And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.")

Increased human rebellion caused decreased fruitfulness of the "ground".  Genesis 4:12, "When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.", and Genesis 4:14, "Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me." (cf Genesis 8:21, "And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done."  (NB: This is after Noah built an altar and offered burnt offerings to God. So does it mean that after the Flood, the ground was not cursed already? Jesus came to redeem me from the curse that arises from breaking the Old Covenant.).

In Abraham the promised redemption [Genesis 3:15, "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. "] took the form of the restoration of a proper relation between God and man and between man and the "ground" [Genesis 28:14-15, "And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. "]. Under Moses the fruitfulness of the "ground" depended on the obedience of God's people (cf Deuteronomy 11:17, "And then the Lord's wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth you. ")

(NB: Rebellion is not heeding God's loving counsel as found in His Word.)

Syn:  Adamah, from its generally redness is the productive agent. Erets (776 - used 1505x); a territory or even the whole earth.  Sadeh (7704 - used 7x); a field, plot of land or estate.