אֲדָמָה (a.da.mah)
a.da.mah
land: soil
H:N-FQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 176 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-F
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun adamah refers to the earth as soil, ground, or cultivated land. Derived from a root meaning "to be red" or "ruddy," it evokes the reddish hue of the fertile dust that sustains life. In Scripture, this word spans a wide range of meanings, from the specific plot of tilled field where crops grow to the entire inhabited earth under God’s sovereignty.
Its usage often highlights humanity's relationship with the land. For instance, in Genesis 3:17-19, the ground itself becomes a participant in the narrative of human labor and consequence, yielding thorns and thistles rather than fruit. Conversely, in passages like Psalm 104:30 or Isaiah 24:21, it represents the broader created order that responds to God's breath or judgment. The term also appears in place names, such as the city of Adamah in Naphtali (Joshua 19:36), grounding theological concepts in physical geography.
Translators render adamah variously as "ground," "land," or "earth" depending on context. When used for agriculture, it emphasizes productivity and care; when used cosmically, it underscores the vastness of creation. This word connects the intimate act of farming with the grand scope of divine history, showing that the physical earth is never merely background but an active stage for God’s purposes.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word adamah points to the earth as soil, the very dust from which we are made and into which we return. It reminds us that our physical bodies are not separate from creation but woven from it. When Genesis describes God forming man from the dust of the ground, it establishes a humble origin for every human life. We are earthly creatures, shaped by the Creator’s hands and sustained by the same earth that feeds the crops.
This connection carries both comfort and responsibility. The ground yields food through labor, yet it also bears the weight of human consequence. In Genesis 3, the earth responds to sin with thorns, reflecting a broken world. Yet even in this tension, the soil remains a stage for God’s care. It provides for Noah’s family after the flood and sustains Abel’s flock. The land is not just background scenery; it is an active participant in our daily survival and spiritual journey.
Understanding adamah helps us see our relationship with nature more clearly. We are called to till and keep this ground, recognizing that our work is tied to God’s provision. Whether we are planting seeds or facing the hardships of a cursed earth, we remember that life comes from God. This perspective invites gratitude for the simple gifts of soil and rain, grounding our faith in the tangible reality of creation.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 176 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- the/ ground68×
- the/ land32×
- ground/ your11×
- the/ earth8×
- [the] land of7×
- land/ its6×
- land/ your5×
- land/ his5×
- [the] ground5×
- land/ their4×
- and/ earth4×
- own land/ their3×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- הָ֣/אֲדָמָ֔ה18×
- הָ/אֲדָמָ֑ה12×
- הָ/אֲדָמָֽה\׃9×
- הָ/אֲדָמָ֖ה9×
- הָ/אֲדָמָ֔ה8×
- הָֽ/אֲדָמָ֔ה7×
- הָֽ/אֲדָמָ֔ה6×
- וַ/אֲדָמָ֖ה5×
- אַדְמָתֽ/וֹ\׃5×
- הָֽ/אֲדָמָֽה\׃4×
- הָ/אֲדָמָֽה\׃\ \ס4×
- אֲדָמָ֑ה4×
Key Verses
-
Genesis 2:7
Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
This verse establishes the intimate connection between humanity and the earth, showing that human life is formed directly from the dust of the ground.
-
Genesis 3:17
To Adam he said, “Because you have listened to your wife’s voice, and have eaten from the tree, about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ the ground is cursed for your sake. You will eat from it with much labor all the days of your life.
Here the ground becomes a participant in the narrative of consequence, cursed because of human disobedience and yielding thorns instead of fruit.
-
Genesis 4:2
Again she gave birth, to Cain’s brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Cain is identified as a tiller of the ground, linking his identity and labor directly to the soil he cultivates.
-
Genesis 8:21
Yahweh smelled the pleasant aroma. Yahweh said in his heart, “I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake because the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth. I will never again strike every living thing, as I have done.
God promises never to curse the ground again, showing that despite human sin, the earth remains a source of sustenance under divine grace.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does adamah mean in Hebrew?
How is adamah different from eretz?
Why is the ground cursed in Genesis 3?
Where else does adamah appear in the Bible?
Every Occurrence (176 verses across 26 books)
Genesis 37 verses
God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on…
Genesis 2:5No plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for Yahweh God had not caused…
Genesis 2:6but a mist went up from the earth, and watered the whole surface of the ground.
Genesis 2:7Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a…
Genesis 2:9Out of the ground Yahweh God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, including the…
Genesis 2:19Out of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man…
Genesis 3:17To Adam he said, “Because you have listened to your wife’s voice, and have eaten from the tree, about which I commanded…
Genesis 3:19You will eat bread by the sweat of your face until you return to the ground, for you were taken out of it. For you are…
Genesis 3:23Therefore Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.
Genesis 4:2Again she gave birth, to Cain’s brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Genesis 4:3As time passed, Cain brought an offering to Yahweh from the fruit of the ground.
Genesis 4:10Yahweh said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground.
Genesis 4:11Now you are cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
Genesis 4:12From now on, when you till the ground, it won’t yield its strength to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the…
Genesis 4:14Behold, you have driven me out today from the surface of the ground. I will be hidden from your face, and I will be a…
Genesis 5:29He named him Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, caused by the ground…
Genesis 6:1When men began to multiply on the surface of the ground, and daughters were born to them,
Genesis 6:7Yahweh said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the surface of the ground—man, along with animals, creeping…
Genesis 6:20Of the birds after their kind, of the livestock after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind,…
Genesis 7:4In seven days, I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights. I will destroy every living thing…
Genesis 7:8Clean animals, unclean animals, birds, and everything that creeps on the ground
Genesis 7:23Every living thing was destroyed that was on the surface of the ground, including man, livestock, creeping things, and…
Genesis 8:8He himself sent out a dove to see if the waters were abated from the surface of the ground,
Genesis 8:13In the six hundred first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth.…
Genesis 8:21Yahweh smelled the pleasant aroma. Yahweh said in his heart, “I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake…
Genesis 9:2The fear of you and the dread of you will be on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the sky. Everything…
Genesis 9:20Noah began to be a farmer, and planted a vineyard.
Genesis 12:3I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the earth will…
Genesis 19:25He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew on the ground.
Genesis 28:14Your offspring will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the…
Genesis 28:15Behold, I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not…
Genesis 47:18When that year was ended, they came to him the second year, and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord how our…
Genesis 47:19Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be…
Genesis 47:20So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine…
Genesis 47:22Only he didn’t buy the land of the priests, for the priests had a portion from Pharaoh, and ate their portion which…
Genesis 47:23Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh. Behold, here is seed for…
Genesis 47:26Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth. Only the land of…