G. M. Mackie. EARTH is the tr. of varions Heb. and Gr. terms, the most notable of which are —
1. no-i^ (deriv. uncertain, perhaps from a root containing notion of being tilled, or of smootMy covering and closely fitting. See Oxf. Heb. Lex. ».v. ), which with its LXX and NT equivalent yv la used (1) of the earth as tilled, Gn 2» 3'' etc. Hence .iDiNri B>'.-< = a husbandman, Gn 9". (2) Of earth as a material substance, from which were fashioned man Gn 2', animals v.'», vessels Is 45* (see I'OTTKRY), of which at times altars were made Ex 20'^, cf. 2 K 5", and which was put upon the head as a token of woe or of contrition 1 S 4", 2 S 1', Neh 9'. In this last reference the term more frequently employed is ■i?i; = dust, which is rendered earth in such passages as Gn 26", Job 8'» 19"' 28' 30' il^, la 2", Dn 12». (3) Of earth as the visible surface of the globe, in such phrases as 'every- thing that creepeth upon the face of the earth ' (RV ' ground ') Gn 1^ 6*" etc. (4) Of earth as = land or country Gn 47", la 19", esp. of the Holy Land Zee 2". (5) Of earth as = whole earth Gn 12' 28'*. This last usage is rare, and, like the preceding, belongs rather to —
2. nti (in Aram, portions of Err and T)n ni<, Syr. iir'd'), which is used (1) of earth as oiijiosed to heaven Gn 1', cf. Mt 28"; (2) of earth a.-* opposec to sea Gn 1", cf. Mk 4' 6*' ; (3) of the whole earth Gn 18", or its inhabitante Gn 1", cf. Lk 18»21'»; (4) = land, country, district Gn 10'" 19-«, cf. Mt 2» 4"; (5) as synonymous with n5i'ifl = Boil Gn 1"-", cf. Mt 13». See Cround.
3. A poetic aynon. of pji is Sjb (perhaps fr. a root ^productive ; according to Homniel, Exjms. Tivus, 1897, viii. 472, it had originally a mythological sense), 1 S 2", Is 14" etc. Hotli P(i and Sjn are
I rei)ro<luced in the LXX by -^ and olKoo/Uyii, the
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EARTHQUAKE
EARTHQUAKE
latter of which occurs a^ood many times also in NT, e.g. Lk 4», Ro W^, Rev 16".
See farther Cosmogony, World.
J. A. Sblbie.
EARTHQUAKE — Palestine has from time imme- morial been a country subject to earthquakes, and it is '.Iierefore not surprising that several references to these phenomena should be found in Holy Writ. Nor is it improbable that during prehistoric times, especially during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs, it was even more liable to seismic shocks than in the former period, when we con-iiider that the regions beyond the Jordan witnessed volcanic eruptions on a vast scale from craters and foci which are now altogether dormant.*
The references in this article will be restricted to the region of Pal. and the adjoining territories of Syria, Asia Minor, and Arabia Petra^a, and the subject will be treated under the foil, heads : —
1. Historical. 2. Prophetic. 3. Earthquakes of the Christian Era. 4. Origin of Earthquake Phenomena. 6. Literature.
1. Historical. — (a) Earthquake at Mount Sinai on the giving of the Law : ' the whole mount quaked greatly' (Ex 19'*).
(6) Earthquake accompanied by fissures and sinking of the ground, by which Korah and his companions were destroyed (Nu 16" ; also Jos. Ant. IV. iii. 3).
(c) Earthquake in the days of Saul (1 S 14").
{d ) Elijah, fleeing from the wrath of Jezebel, finds a refuge on the solitary heights of Horeb (Mount Sinai) in Arabia Petrjea (1 K 19"). Assuming Jebel Musa to be actually the mount in question, tradition has handed down to us the name of the cave from which the prophet witnessed tlie etiects of the earthquake. At about 200 feet below the summit of this mountain there lies in a recess a circular pool surrounded by rocks of granite and porphyry penetrated at one spot by a cave, prob- ably of artificial origin, kno^vn amonn:st the Arabs and the monks of St. Catherine as ' Elijah's cave.' The position and surroundings fit in so well with the narrative that it would be useless to call in question the truth of this identification.t The solitude of the place would have alJbrded the prophet protection ; the cave, shelter ; and the pool, water to quench his thirst.
(e) Earthquake in the reign of Uzziah. This earthquake must have been one of extraordinary severity, as it is twice referred to, Am 1' and Zeo 14° ; and from the latter passage we may infer that it caused a precipitate flight of the inhabitants of JeruB., and may have been accompanied by tissur- ing of the earth at the Mount of Olives. The exact date cannot be determined, as Uzziah's reign was long, extending from c. B.C. 790-740.
(/) B.C. 31, Sept. 2. In the reign of Herod an earthquake occurred in Judsea, 'such as had not happened at any other time,' destructive to men and animals (Jos. Ant. XV. v. 2).
(g) Earthquake at the Crucifixion. In this case the earthquake described in Mt 27" was one of the miraculous manifestations of divine power which accompanied the death of our Lord on the cross, and was followed by rending of the rocks and of the veil of the temple, and opening of the tombs, A.D. 29.