Word for Word: Episode 6
וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ And the earth The Hebrew word for "earth" is erets ( אָֽרֶץ ) and has many related meanings. Whereas we might pick up some soil and call it "earth", we don't speak of our homeland or state as "earth". This was not the way it was to the people of antiquity. Erets could mean the ground as opposed to the sea, or as opposed to the air above it. HaErets is twice as often translated as "the land" rather than "the earth". So, what are to make of the creation account of erets ? It helps a lot if there is a definition right in the context. Verse two will tell us of a place without life and very dark, deep and wet. On the other hand, we find a special use on day three that names a very dry place "erets". The confusion is that the word "ground" is supplied. I will return to the use of erets as dry ground when we get to day three. The narrative before us leads most logically to a sequence. Space w...