ἐρημία (erēmia)
erēmia
desert
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 4 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The noun erēmia refers to a solitude or uninhabited region, essentially a wasteland left empty of people. It appears only four times in the New Testament, highlighting places where human society has receded and nature reclaims the space. In Matthew 15:33 and Mark 8:4, the disciples use the word to describe the remote location where Jesus is feeding the multitude. They are not merely noting a rural setting; they are pointing out that there is no food available in this deserted area, emphasizing their practical concern about providing for the crowd.
The term carries a sense of desolation rather than just geographic distance. It appears again in 2 Corinthians 11:26 and Hebrews 11:38 to describe the harsh conditions faced by travelers and believers. In these contexts, erēmia signifies a place of exposure and vulnerability, where one is cut off from the comforts and protections of community. The word underscores the physical reality of being in a void, far from the structures of civilization.
Etymologically, it derives from erēmos, meaning deserted or lonely. While erēmos can describe something physically empty, erēmia focuses on the state of being uninhabited. This distinction allows the text to convey not just an empty landscape, but a specific condition of isolation. The sources note its use in the Septuagint for places of judgment or abandonment, which adds a layer of historical weight to its New Testament usage.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word erēmia describes a place where people have gone, leaving behind only silence and open sky. It is not just empty land; it is a space without help, food, or shelter. When the disciples used this term while facing a hungry crowd, they were admitting their own powerlessness. They saw no resources in the wilderness, only a vast, indifferent landscape that could not meet their needs.
Yet Scripture places us in these erēmia to show us where our true strength lies. The apostle Paul counted such dangers as part of his service, and the heroes of faith wandered there when the world rejected them. These empty places strip away our illusions of self-sufficiency. They remind us that God’s provision often arrives precisely when human options have run out.
When you feel surrounded by a spiritual or physical wilderness, remember that this is not abandonment. It is an invitation to look beyond the visible horizon. The same God who multiplied bread in the desert walks with you there, turning isolation into a place of unexpected grace and reliance on His care.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 4 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- this desolate place?1×
- deserts1×
- a secluded place1×
- [the] wilderness,1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- ἐρημίᾳ,1×
- ἐρημίᾳ1×
- ἐρημίας;1×
- ἐρημίαις1×
Key Verses
-
Matthew 15:33
The disciples said to him, “Where could we get so many loaves in a deserted place as to satisfy so great a multitude?”
The disciples use this word to highlight the practical impossibility of feeding the crowd, exposing their lack of resources in a place where no market exists.
-
Mark 8:4
His disciples answered him, “From where could one satisfy these people with bread here in a deserted place?”
This occurrence reinforces the theme of scarcity, emphasizing that the location itself offers no means for survival or sustenance for the multitude.
-
Hebrews 11:38
of whom the world was not worthy—wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, and the holes of the earth.
Here the term describes the harsh exile of believers who were driven from society, wandering in wild places because the world was not worthy of them.