Topical Encyclopedia
Definition and Significance: Soil, in the biblical context, is often used both literally and metaphorically. Literally, it refers to the earth or ground, the medium in which plants grow and from which humans and animals derive sustenance. Metaphorically, soil is used to represent the condition of the human heart and its receptivity to God's word.
Biblical References:1.
Creation and Sustenance: In
Genesis 2:7, the Bible describes the creation of man from the soil: "Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being." This highlights the fundamental connection between humans and the earth, emphasizing humanity's dependence on the soil for life and sustenance.
2.
Parable of the Sower: One of the most significant uses of soil in the New Testament is found in the Parable of the Sower (
Matthew 13:3-9,
Mark 4:3-8,
Luke 8:5-8). In this parable, Jesus describes different types of soil representing the varied responses of human hearts to the word of God. The "good soil" is described as those who hear the word, understand it, and produce a fruitful harvest (
Matthew 13:23): "But the seed sown on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and produces a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold."
3.
Covenant and Land: The Promised Land, described as a land flowing with milk and honey, is a recurring theme in the Old Testament. The fertility of the soil in this land is a sign of God's blessing and faithfulness to His covenant with Israel.
Deuteronomy 8:7-9 states: "For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing."
4.
Judgment and Restoration: The condition of the soil is also used to symbolize judgment and restoration. In times of disobedience, the land becomes barren and unproductive, as seen in
Jeremiah 12:4 : "How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? Because of the evil of its residents, the beasts and birds have perished, for they said, 'He will not see what happens to us.'" Conversely, restoration is depicted through the renewal of the land's fertility, as in
Isaiah 35:1 : "The wilderness and the land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose."
5.
Human Responsibility: The Bible also emphasizes human responsibility in caring for the soil. In
Genesis 2:15 , God places Adam in the Garden of Eden "to work it and take care of it," indicating the stewardship role humans have over the earth. This stewardship is further underscored in the laws given to Israel, such as the Sabbatical Year, where the land was to rest every seventh year (
Leviticus 25:4): "But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land—a Sabbath to the LORD. You are not to sow your field or prune your vineyard."
Theological Implications: Soil, as a symbol of the human heart, challenges believers to examine their receptivity to God's word. The parable of the sower calls for self-reflection on the condition of one's heart and the fruitfulness of one's life in response to divine truth. Additionally, the biblical mandate for stewardship of the earth underscores the responsibility to care for God's creation, reflecting His glory and provision.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
v. t.) To feed, as cattle or horses, in the barn or an enclosure, with fresh grass or green food cut for them, instead of sending them out to pasture; hence (such food having the effect of purging them), to purge by feeding on green food; as, to soil a horse.
2. (n.) The upper stratum of the earth; the mold, or that compound substance which furnishes nutriment to plants, or which is particularly adapted to support and nourish them.
3. (n.) Land; country.
4. (n.) Dung; feces; compost; manure; as, night soil.
5. (v. t.) To enrich with soil or muck; to manure.
6. (n.) A marshy or miry place to which a hunted boar resorts for refuge; hence, a wet place, stream, or tract of water, sought for by other game, as deer.
7. (n.) To make dirty or unclean on the surface; to foul; to dirty; to defile; as, to soil a garment with dust.
8. (n.) To stain or mar, as with infamy or disgrace; to tarnish; to sully.
9. (v. i.) To become soiled; as, light colors soil sooner than dark ones.
10. (n.) That which soils or pollutes; a soiled place; spot; stain.
Greek
5529b. chous -- earth, soil ... chous. 5530 . earth,
soil. Transliteration: chous Short Definition: dust.
... of a
derivation of cheo (to pour) Definition earth,
soil NASB Word Usage dust (2).
... 3435. moluno -- to stain, defile
... to stain, defile. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: moluno Phonetic Spelling:
(mol-oo'-no) Short Definition: I soil, stain, pollute, defile Definition: I ...
1093. ge -- the earth, land
... the earth, land. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: ge Phonetic Spelling:
(ghay) Short Definition: the earth, soil, land Definition: the earth, soil ...
1090. georgeo -- to till
... to till. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: georgeo Phonetic Spelling:
(gheh-or-gheh'-o) Short Definition: I work the soil, cultivate the earth Definition: ...
1092. georgos -- a husbandman, vinedresser
... vinedresser. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: georgos Phonetic Spelling:
(gheh-ore-gos') Short Definition: a worker of the soil, husbandman, vine ...
4695. spiloo -- to stain, defile
... defile. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: spiloo Phonetic Spelling:
(spee-lo'-o) Short Definition: I defile, spot Definition: I defile, spot, stain, ...
1475. edaphos -- a basis, bottom, ground
... ground. From the base of hedraios; a basis (bottom), ie The soil -- ground. see
GREEK hedraios. (edaphos) -- 1 Occurrence. 1474, 1475. edaphos. 1476 . ...
5476. chamai -- on or to the ground
... on the ground. Adverb perhaps from the base of chasma through the idea of a fissure
in the soil; earthward, ie Prostrate -- on (to) the ground. ...
3075. lumainomai -- to outrage, to corrupt
... to ravage, destroy. Middle voice from a probably derivative of luo (meaning filth);
properly, to soil, ie (figuratively) insult (maltreat) -- make havock of. ...
5517. choikos -- earthy, made of dust
... earthy. From choos; dusty or dirty (soil-like), ie (by implication) terrene -- earthy.
see GREEK choos. (choikoi) -- 1 Occurrence. (choikos) -- 2 Occurrences. ...
Strong's Hebrew
2936. tanaph -- to soil, defile... to
soil, defile. Transliteration: tanaph Phonetic Spelling: (taw-naf') Short Definition:
dirty.
... root Definition to
soil, defile NASB Word Usage dirty (1). defile
... 2981. yebul -- produce (of the soil)
... 2980, 2981. yebul. 2982 . produce (of the soil). Transliteration: yebul
Phonetic Spelling: (yeb-ool') Short Definition: produce. ...
7704. sadeh -- field, land
... 1), country (14), countryside (1), countryside* (1), field (235), fields (32), ground
(3), ground* (1), land (16), lands (1), mainland (2), soil (2), territory ...
127. adamah -- ground, land
... adam Definition ground, land NASB Word Usage country (1), dirt (1), dust (3), earth
(32), farming* (1), fields (1), ground (64), land (112), lands (2), soil (7 ...
2643. chaph -- clean
... innocent. From chophaph (in the moral sense of covered from soil); pure -- innocent.
see HEBREW chophaph. 2642, 2643. chaph. 2644 . Strong's Numbers.
2610. chaneph -- to be polluted or profane
... corrupt, defile, greatly, pollute, profane. A primitive root; to soil, especially
in a moral sense -- corrupt, defile, X greatly, pollute, profane. ...
5214. nir -- to break up, freshly till
... break up. A root probably identical with that of niyr, through the idea of the gleam
of a fresh furrow; to till the soil -- break up. see HEBREW niyr. ...
1351. gaal -- to defile
... A primitive root, (rather identified with ga'al, through the idea of freeing, ie
Repudiating); to soil or (figuratively) desecrate -- defile, pollute, stain. ...
8327. sharash -- to deal with the roots
... take, cause to take root out. A primitive root; to root, ie Strike into the soil,
or (by implication) to pluck from it -- (take, cause to take) root (out). ...
6083. aphar -- dry earth, dust
... Word Origin from an unused word Definition dry earth, dust NASB Word Usage ashes
(2), debris (2), dirt (1), dry soil (1), dust (91), dusty (1), earth (5 ...
Library
The Soil and the Seed
... LXXIX THE SOIL AND THE SEED. Matthew xiii.1-9. It takes two things to make a
seed grow. One is a good seed, and the other is a good soil. ...
February the Twelfth the Bulb and the Soil
... FEBRUARY The Twelfth THE BULB AND THE SOIL. ... Some one sent me a bulb which requires
a certain kind of soil, but he also sent me the soil in which to grow it. ...
Sowing Ourselves in Life's Soil.
... Each One of Us Sowing Ourselves in Life's Soil. ... It is men, saved men. We are to
sow our saved selves, our lives, in the soil of men's lives. ...
Chap. xxviii. How the Same St. Cuthbert, Living the Life of an ...
... Cuthbert, living the life of an Anchorite, by his prayers obtained a spring in a
dry soil, and had a crop from seed sown by the labour of his hands out of ...
How Constantine Commanded the Materials of the Idol Temple, and ...
... Book III. Chapter XXVII."How Constantine commanded the Materials of the Idol
Temple, and the Soil itself, to be removed at a Distance. ...
The Heath in the Desert and the Tree by the River
... sides. The fierce 'sunbeams like swords' slay every green thing. The salt
particles in the soil glitter in the light. No living ...
On the End of Man
... We see that the soil is made for the plants and trees to grow in; because if there
was no need of things growing, it would be better to have a nice clean solid ...
The Summer Fields
... When he sees that the sun begins to shine forth, he clips and cuts his trees, and
digs up his ground, and turns over the soil with toil and care. ...
The Sower Cont.
... St. Paul sowed upon just such soil in Galatia. There his hearers spoke of such
blessedness that they would have plucked out their eyes for him. ...
Good Works.
... In a garden where the conditions are all equal, and there is the same soil,
the same fertilizer, etc., different fruit-trees are planted. ...
Thesaurus
Soil (59 Occurrences)... for them, instead of sending them out to pasture; hence (such food having the effect
of purging them), to purge by feeding on green food; as, to
soil a horse.
...Earth (10501 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary. (1.) In the sense of soil or ground, the translation
of the word adamah'. In Genesis 9:20 "husbandman" is ...
Land (19790 Occurrences)
... 4. (n.) Ground, in respect to its nature or quality; soil; as, wet land; good
or bad land. ... The soil is deep, rich loam, of amazing fertility. ...
Plough (11 Occurrences)
... 2. (n.) A well-known implement, drawn by horses, mules, oxen, or other power, for
turning up the soil to prepare it for bearing crops; also used to furrow or ...
Fell (331 Occurrences)
... Matthew 13:5 Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn't have much soil, and
immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth. ...
Plow (11 Occurrences)
... shoulder. These plows literally scratch the soil, as the Hebrew word implies. ...
continually? Does he keep turning the soil and breaking the clods? ...
Rocky (14 Occurrences)
... Matthew 13:5 Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn't have much soil, and
immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth. ...
Depth (22 Occurrences)
... Matthew 13:5 Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn't have much soil, and
immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth. ...
Bay (8 Occurrences)
... The Hebrew word so rendered is ereh, which simply means "native born", ie, a tree
not transplanted, but growing on its native soil, and therefore luxuriantly. ...
Clay (50 Occurrences)
... CLAY. kla (chomer, chacaph, TiT, meleT, `abhi, ma`abheh, abhTiT; pelos, "wet clay,"
"mud"): True clay, which is a highly aluminous soil, is found in certain ...
Resources
What is the key to applying the Bible to my life? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is a spiritual harvest and how can I achieve one? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the meaning of the Parable of the Growing Seed (Mark 4:26-29)? | GotQuestions.orgSoil: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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