Bible Dictionaries
Earth

　　In both Hebrew and Greek the same word is used to denote the earth as a whole, and a particular land. Only the context can enable us to decide in which of these senses it is to be taken in a given passage.

　　Thus in Matthew 27:45 we might, so far as the original word is concerned, render either "there was darkness over all the land," or over all the earth. The expression "all the earth" is sometimes used hyperbolically for a large portion of it, Ezra 1:2 . The word is used of the whole world, etc. In a moral sense, earthly is opposed to what is heavenly, spiritual and holy, John 3:31 1 Corinthians 15:47 Colossians 3:2 James 3:15 . "The lower parts of the earth," means the unseen world of the dead, Psalm 63:9 Isaiah 44:23 Ephesians 4:9 .