ארצ

Normally pronunced “aretz” or “arets”, in a general sense, 'arex' means “Territory” (see Genesis 2).

In some contexts, the territory is that of the planet, and so it is not surprising that the name of our planet “Earth” is based on the word 'arex'.

One important concept that bears noting is that a territory implies not only a geographical location, but also some form of governance or in a sense, ownership. The presence of this concept is stark right from the very first verse in the ancient Hebrew texts, and particularly notable due to its conjunction with the concept of division as exemplified by the word bera coexisting in that very first sentence.

It is true that the word Earth is cognate with 'arex' and so the idea of a planetary territory is one that can not be overlooked. However, it would be misleading to say that 'arex' necessarily implies ancient knowledge of planets, at least not taken in isolation. The context of division in Genesis 1:1 does appear to indicate at least a possibility of such knowledge though.

Whether or not 'arex' may sometimes refer to a global scale, there are certainly cases where it absolutely does not. In Genesis 2 it is very clear that multiple territories (on earth) are laid out and referred to by both name and characteristics. In this context it makes no sense to take a planetary interpretation for 'arex'.

A territorial rather than global interpretation significantly affects the narrative of Genesis 6-8, bringing it into in a much more scientifically plausible localized flood that aligns with other contemporary accounts from the region.¹⁾

Likewise in Genesis 10:5, 10, 11, 20 & 31 the context is so clearly a territorial one that all translations render it as “nation” rather than “earth”. Moreso in Exodus 9:26, the context is abundantly clear that only a fairly small geographic area is meant.

From here, the typical translations tend to lack any consistency, waffling back and forth between global and local interpretations.

pull in the Territory Of The Semim and Territory Of The First Ones sections.

Intriguingly, the word 'arex' is built upon the root word rex which is a verb meaning “to run”.

Note that this does not imply that 'arex' literally means “running” but we can not ignore that there is some relation implied.

This might not actually be a strange as it frost appears. When we think of ownership or authority over a physical area, we might say that we have “the run of the place”. This is especially true if we are being entrusted by an owner to “run the place” in their absence. This applies to places of business in general, but even more so to places with mechanical components, like factories, or to the machinery itself. A boss might ask an employee to “run the machines”.

The implication here then is that the “territory” is more than simply raw land, but that perhaps there is some kind of system that requires oversight or even active participation to ensure that everything “runs smoothly”. This evokes an image of an ecosystem built upon a territory, rather than simply a dead tract of dirt.

LexID 776