ge-nes'-a-ret he ge Gennesaret):

1. The Name:

The first syllable of the name Gennesaret is evidently the Hebrew gan, "garden"; while the second may be a proper name. Possibly, however, the name may represent the Hebrew ganne sarim, "princely gardens." It is applied to a district on the Northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 14:34 Mark 6:53), now known as el-Ghuweir, "little Ghor." It curves round from el-Mejdel in the South, to `Ain et-Tineh, or Khan Minyeh, in the North, a distance of over 3 miles, with an average breadth from the sea to the foot of the mountains of about a mile. The soil is deep, rich loam, of amazing fertility. In the South it is watered by the stream from Wady el-Chamam, the gorge that opens to the West of el-Mejdel.

2. Water:

The middle portion is supplied from `Ain el-Madawwerah, a copious fountain near the western edge of the plain, round which a wall has been built, to raise the level of the water; and from the perennial stream, Wady er-Rubadiyeh, which drives a mill before starting on its work of irrigation. Farther North, Wady el-`Amud brings down much water in the rainy season. The water from `Ain et-Tabgha was brought round the promontory at `Ain et-Tineh by a conduit cut in the rock. It was used to drive certain mills, and also to refresh the neighboring land. This seems to be the fountain called "Capharnaum" by Josephus (BJ, III, x, 8). This writer extols the productiveness of the plain. He says the "soil is so fruitful that all sorts of trees can grow upon it."

3. Fertility:

The walnut, the palm, the olive and the fig, which usually require diverse conditions, flourish together here. "One may call this place the ambition of nature;. it is a happy contention of the seasons, as if each of them claimed this country; for it not only nourishes different sorts of autumnal fruit beyond men's expectation, but preserves them a great while." He says that it supplies grapes and figs through ten months of the year, and other fruits as they ripen together throughout the year (same place). The fruits of Gennesaret had such high repute among the rabbis that they were not allowed in Jerusalem at the time of the feasts, lest any might be tempted to come merely for their enjoyment (Neubauer, Geog. du Talmud, 45).

Centuries of neglect made a sad change in the plain. It was largely overgrown with thorn-bushes, and it yielded one of the finest crops of thistles in the country. Cultivation was confined to the Southwest part; and the rest furnished grazing ground for a tribe of nomads. Recently the German Catholics made extensive purchases, including the village of el-Mejdel. Considerable portions have also passed into the hands of Jews. The land is almost entirely cleared, and it rewards the toil of the husbandman with all its ancient generosity.

W. Ewing

LAND

((1) 'erets;

(2) 'adhamah;

(3) sadheh,

"a piece of land";

(4) ge, "earth";

(5) agros, "field";

(6) chora, "region";

(7) chorion, diminutive of chora;

(8) xeros, "dry land";

(9) 'ezrach, "native" the King James Version "born in the land," "born among you," the Revised Version (British and American) "home-born" (Leviticus 19:34; Leviticus 14:16 Numbers 15:30); "like a green tree in its native soil" (Psalm 37:35)):

'Erets occurs hundreds of times and is used in much the same way as 'adhamah, which also occurs often: e.g. "land of Egypt," 'erets mitsrayim (Genesis 13:10), and 'adhmath mitsrayim (Genesis 47:20). The other words occur less often, and are used in the senses indicated above.

See COUNTRY; EARTH.

Alfred Ely Day

LAND-CROCODILE (Revised Version (British and American))

land-crok'-o-dil (koach; Septuagint chamaileon, Leviticus 11:30; the King James Version Chameleon): Koach is found only here, meaning an animal, the fifth in the list of unclean "creeping things." Elsewhere is it translated "strength" or "power," and it has been thought that here is meant the desert monitor, Varanus griseus, a gigantic lizard, which is common in Egypt and Palestine, and which attains the length of 4 ft. "Chameleon," which the King James Version has here, is used by the Revised Version (British and American) for tinshemeth (the King James Version "mole"), the eighth in the list of unclean "creeping things" (compare nasham, "to breathe"; translated "swan" in Leviticus 11:18 margin). While it is by no means certain what animal is meant, there could be no objection to "monitor" or "desert monitor." "Land-crocodile" is objectionable because it is not a recognized name of any animal.

See CHAMELEON; LIZARD.

Alfred Ely Day

MORIAH, LAND OF

mo-ri'-a ('erec ha-moriyah; eis ten genitive ten hupselen): Abraham was directed by God to take his son Isaac, to go into the land of Moriah, and there to offer him for a burnt offering (Genesis 22:2) upon a mountain which God would show him. This land is mentioned only here, and there is little to guide us in trying to identify it. A late writer (2 Chronicles 3:1) applies the name of Moriah to the mount on which Solomon's Temple was built, possibly associating it with the sacrifice of Isaac. A similar association with this mountain may have been in the mind of the writer of Genesis 22 (see 22:14), who, of course, wrote long after the events described (Driver). But in 22:2 no special mountain is indicated.

Abraham journeyed from the land of the Philistines, and on the 3rd day he saw the place afar off (Genesis 22:4). This naturally suggests some prominent mountain farther North than Jerusalem. The description could hardly apply to Jerusalem in any case, as it could not be seen "afar off" by one approaching either from the South or the West. The Samaritans lay the scene of sacrifice on Mt. GERIZIM (which see).

Instead of "Moriah" in this passage Peshitta reads "Amorites." This suggests a possible emendation of the text, which, if it be accepted, furnishes a more definite ides of the land within which that memorable scene was enacted. Both Jerusalem and Gerizim, however, lay within the boundaries of the land of the Amorites. No doubt the enmity existing between the Jews and the Samaritans led them each to glorify their own holy places to the detriment of those of their rivals. Little stress can therefore be laid upon their identifications. With our present knowledge we must be content to leave the question open.

W. Ewing

SHAALIM, LAND OF

sha'-a-lim ('erets sha`alim; Codex Vaticanus tes ges Easakem; Codex Alexandrinus tes ges Saaleim; the King James Version Shalim): Saul in search of his father's asses passed through Mt. Ephraim and the land of Shalishah, then through the land of Shaalim and the land of yemini. This last name English Versions of the Bible renders "Benjamin" (1 Samuel 9:4). The whole passage is so obscure that no certain conclusions can be reached. The search party may have proceeded northward from Gibeah, through the uplands of Ephraim, turning then westward, then southward, and finally eastward. We should thus look for the land of Shalishah and the land of Shaalim on the west side of the mountain range: and the latter may have been on the slopes to the East of Lydda. Possibly we ought here to read "Shaalbim," instead of "Shaalim."

W. Ewing

SHALISHAH, LAND OF

sha-li'-sha, shal'-i-sha ('erets shalishah; Codex Vaticanus he ge Selcha; Codex Alexandrinus he ge Salissa): If the general indication of the route followed by Saul, given under SHAALIM, is correct, the land of Shalishah (1 Samuel 9:4) will lie to the Northeast of Lydda on the western slope of the range. Baal-shalishah would most likely be in the district, and may indeed have given its name to it. If Conder is right in identifying this city with Khirbet Kefr Thilth, about 19 miles Northeast of Jaffa, it meets well enough the general indication given above. Eusebius, Onomasticon knows the name, but gives no guidance as to where the district is. Baal-shalishah it places in the Thamnite region, 15 miles North of Diospolis (Lydda). No boundaries can be laid down, but probability points to this neighborhood.

W. Ewing

SHUAL, LAND OF

('erets shu`al; he Sogal): From their encampment at Michmash the Philistines sent out marauding bands, one going westward toward Beth-horon, another eastward, "the way of the border that looketh down upon the valley of Zeboim." The pass to the South was held against them by Israel. The third party therefore went northward, turning "unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shual" (1 Samuel 13:17 f). Ophrah is probably identical with et-taiyibeh, a village which lies some 5 miles East of Beitin (Bethel). It is in this district therefore that the land of Shual must be sought, but no definite identification is possible.

W. Ewing

SINIM, LAND OF

si'-nim, sin'-im ('erets cinim; ge Person): The name occurs in Isaiah's prophecy of the return of the people from distant lands: "Lo, these shall come from far; and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim" (Isaiah 49:12). The land is clearly far off, and it must be sought either in the South or in the East. Septuagint points to an eastern country. Many scholars have favored identification with China, the classical Sinae. It seems improbable that Jews had already found their way to China; but from very early times trade relations were established with the Far East by way of Arabia and the Persian Gulf; and the name may have been used by the prophet simply as suggesting extreme remoteness. Against, this view are Dillmann (Commentary on Isaiah), Duhm, Cheyne and others. Some have suggested places in the South: e.g. Sin (Pelusium, Ezekiel 30:15) and Syene (Cheyne, Introduction to Isaiah, 275). But these seem to be too near. In harmony with his reconstruction of Biblical history, Cheyne finally concludes that the reference here is to the return from a captivity in North Arabia (EB, under the word). While no certain decision is possible, probability points to the East, and China cannot be quite ruled out. See article "China," Encyclopedia Brittanica (11th edition), 188b.

W. Ewing

TOB, THE LAND OF

tob, tob ('erets Tobh, "a good land"; ge Tob): Hither Jephthah escaped from his brethren after his father's death (Judges 11:3), and perfected himself in the art of war, making forays with "the vain fellows" who joined him. Here the elders of Gilead found him, when, reduced to dire straits by the children of Ammon, they desired him to take command of their army (Jsg 11:5;). This country contributed 12,000 men to the forces of the allies, who with the Ammonites were defeated by Israel (2 Samuel 10:8). In 1 Maccabees 5:13 we read of the land of Tubins where the Jews, about 1,000 men, were slain by the Gentiles, their wives and children being carried into captivity. The Tubieni, "men of Tobit" of 2 Maccabees 12:17, were probably from this place. Ptolemy (v.19) speaks of Thauba, a place to the Southwest of Zobah, which may possibly be Tobit. The Talmud (Neubauer, Geog. du Talmud, 239) identifies the land of Tobit with the district of Hippene. Tobit would then be represented by Hippos, modern Susiyeh, to the Southwest of Fiq on the plateau East of the Sea of Galilee. Perhaps the most likely identification is that supported by G. A. Smith (HGHL, 587), with eT-Taiyibeh, 10 miles South of Umm Qeis (Gadara). The name is the same in meaning as Tobit.

W. Ewing

CROCODILE, LAND

See CHAMELEON.

LAND LAWS

See AGRARIAN LAWS.

2. (n.) The solid part of the surface of the earth; -- opposed to water as constituting a part of such surface, especially to oceans and seas; as, to sight land after a long voyage.

3. (n.) Any portion, large or small, of the surface of the earth, considered by itself, or as belonging to an individual or a people, as a country, estate, farm, or tract.

4. (n.) Ground, in respect to its nature or quality; soil; as, wet land; good or bad land.

5. (n.) The inhabitants of a nation or people.

6. (n.) The mainland, in distinction from islands.

7. (n.) The ground or floor.

8. (n.) The ground left unplowed between furrows; any one of several portions into which a field is divided for convenience in plowing.

9. (n.) Any ground, soil, or earth whatsoever, as meadows, pastures, woods, etc., and everything annexed to it, whether by nature, as trees, water, etc., or by the hand of man, as buildings, fences, etc.; real estate.

10. (n.) The lap of the strakes in a clinker-built boat; the lap of plates in an iron vessel; -- called also landing.

11. (n.) In any surface prepared with indentations, perforations, or grooves, that part of the surface which is not so treated, as the level part of a millstone between the furrows, or the surface of the bore of a rifled gun between the grooves.

12. (v. t.) To set or put on shore from a ship or other water craft; to disembark; to debark.

13. (v. t.) To catch and bring to shore; to capture; as, to land a fish.

14. (v. t.) To set down after conveying; to cause to fall, alight, or reach; to bring to the end of a course; as, he landed the quoit near the stake; to be thrown from a horse and landed in the mud; to land one in difficulties or mistakes.

15. (v. i.) To go on shore from a ship or boat; to disembark; to come to the end of a course.

3004. yabbashah -- dry land, dry ground
... << 3003, 3004. yabbashah. 3005 >>. dry land, dry ground. Transliteration: yabbashah
Phonetic Spelling: (yab-baw-shaw') Short Definition: land. ...
/hebrew/3004.htm - 6k

127. adamah -- ground, land
... << 126, 127. adamah. 128 >>. ground, land. Transliteration: adamah Phonetic
Spelling: (ad-aw-maw') Short Definition: land. Word Origin ...
/hebrew/127.htm - 6k

6707. tsechichah -- scorched land
... << 6706, 6707. tsechichah. 6708 >>. scorched land. Transliteration: tsechichah
Phonetic Spelling: (tsekh-ee-khaw') Short Definition: land. ...
/hebrew/6707.htm - 6k

7704. sadeh -- field, land
... << 7703, 7704. sadeh. 7705 >>. field, land. Transliteration: sadeh Phonetic Spelling:
(saw-deh') Short Definition: field. ... country, field, ground, land, soil, wild ...
/hebrew/7704.htm - 6k

3006. yabbesheth -- dry land, dry ground
... << 3005, 3006. yabbesheth. 3007 >>. dry land, dry ground. Transliteration: yabbesheth
Phonetic Spelling: (yab-beh'-sheth) Short Definition: ground. ... dry land. ...
/hebrew/3006.htm - 6k

4054. migrash -- a common, common land, open land
... migrash or migrashah. 4055 >>. a common, common land, open land. Transliteration:
migrash or migrashah Phonetic Spelling: (mig-rawsh') Short Definition: lands. ...
/hebrew/4054.htm - 6k

4031. Magog -- perhaps "land of Gog," a son of Japheth, also his ...
... perhaps "land of Gog," a son of Japheth, also his desc. and their land. Transliteration:
Magog Phonetic Spelling: (maw-gogue') Short Definition: Magog. ...
/hebrew/4031.htm - 6k

3759. karmel -- a plantation, garden land, fruit, garden growth
... << 3758, 3759. karmel. 3760 >>. a plantation, garden land, fruit, garden growth.
Transliteration: karmel Phonetic Spelling: (kar-mel') Short Definition: field. ...
/hebrew/3759.htm - 6k

4074. Maday -- a son of Japheth, also his desc. and their land
... << 4073, 4074. Maday. 4075 >>. a son of Japheth, also his desc. and their land.
Transliteration: Maday Phonetic Spelling: (maw-dah'-ee) Short Definition: Media. ...
/hebrew/4074.htm - 6k