Lexical Summary chóra: Land, region, country, field Original Word: χώρα Strong's Exhaustive Concordance county, fields, ground, land, region. Feminine of a derivative of the base of chasma through the idea of empty expanse; room, i.e. A space of territory (more or less extensive; often including its inhabitants) -- coast, county, fields, ground, land, region. Compare topos. see GREEK topos see GREEK chasma HELPS Word-studies 5561 xṓra – country-land (the ordinary word for field); a wide-open area; "a larger tract than agros (68), . . . In two cases it refers to a rich man's estates; and in Jn 4:35, the Lord directs the attention of the disciples to a broad area or series of fields" (WS, 362). NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. word Definition a space, place, land NASB Translation country (15), fields (2), land (4), region (6), regions (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 5561: χώραχώρα, χώρας, ἡ (ΧΑΩ (cf. Curtius, § 179), to lie open, be ready to receive), from Homer down, the Sept. for אֶרֶץ, מְדִינָה 'a province'; 1. properly, the space lying between two places or limits. 2. a region or country; i. e. a tract of land: ἡ χώρα ἐγγύς τῆς ἐρήμου, John 11:54; (in an elliptical phrase, ἡ ἀστραπή (ἡ) ἀστράπτουσα ἐκ τῆς ὑπό τόν οὐρανόν εἰς τήν ὑπ' οὐρανόν λάμπει, A. V. part ... part, Luke 17:24 (cf. Winer's Grammar, § 64, 5); on the ellipsis of χώρα in other phrases (ἐξ ἀναντιας, ἐν δεξιά, etc.), see Winers Grammar, the passage cited; Buttmann, 82 (72)); land as opposed to the sea, Acts 27:27; land as inhabited, a province or country, Mark 5:10; ( 3. land which is plowed or cultivated, ground: Luke 12:16; plural, Luke 21:21 (R. V. country); John 4:35 (A. V. fields); James 5:4 (A. V. fields). (Synonym: see τόπος, at the end.) The term refers broadly to an expanse of land outside a city center—whether agricultural fields, rural districts, or whole territories. It thus bridges the imagery of cultivated soil (Luke 12:16; James 5:4) with the strategic regions through which the gospel advanced (Acts 13:49; Acts 18:23). Rural Setting of Incarnation Events Luke situates shepherds “living out in the fields in that region” when the angelic announcement of Messiah’s birth comes (Luke 2:8). The humble locale underscores the Savior’s accessibility to ordinary laborers and foreshadows the later spread of good news through similar “countrysides” of Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1). Galilean and Judean Countrysides in Jesus’ Ministry Mark 1:5 describes the crowds leaving Jerusalem for the “Judean countryside” to hear John, preparing the stage for Jesus’ own itinerant work. Repeated summaries—“They ran through that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard He was” (Mark 6:55)—emphasize that large portions of the population encountered the Messiah away from urban centers. The Gerasene narratives (Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39) further show deliverance reaching Gentile agricultural districts, anticipating the later mission to the nations. Parables and Moral Instruction Jesus’ teaching regularly draws on the imagery of land. Such usage grounds theological truths in the everyday experience of first-century agrarian society. Eschatological Warning When foretelling Jerusalem’s fall, Jesus instructs, “Let those in the countryside not enter the city” (Luke 21:21). The rural areas would offer provisional refuge in the coming judgment, yet deliverance ultimately rests in heed to His word. Johannine Imagery: Fields Ripe for Harvest John records Jesus’ exhortation, “Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35). The countryside becomes a living metaphor for worldwide evangelism, fulfilled as the Word spreads “through the whole region” (Acts 13:49). Acts: Strategic Regions in Gospel Expansion The book of Acts marks successive advances through named “regions”: This geographical breadth testifies to the promise of Acts 1:8 and the unstoppable scope of the gospel. Socio-Economic Concerns James confronts landowners: “The wages you withheld from the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you” (James 5:4). The term here anchors prophetic denunciation in real economic injustice, illustrating that faith must penetrate the marketplace of the countryside as surely as the synagogues of the city. Theological Motifs 1. Universality—From magi returning to “their own country” (Matthew 2:12) to sailors sensing “approaching land” (Acts 27:27), the word spans Jew and Gentile, village and province, signaling the gospel’s global horizon. Ministry Applications • Evangelism must not be confined to metropolitan centers; the New Testament pattern values remote villages and broad regions. Summary Throughout the New Testament, the countryside is more than backdrop; it is a theological stage where revelation, redemption, and responsibility converge—affirming that every tract of land, from Judean hillsides to Gentile plains, lies within the redemptive reach of the risen Lord. Englishman's Concordance Matthew 2:12 N-AFSGRK: εἰς τὴν χώραν αὐτῶν NAS: the magi left for their own country by another KJV: into their own country another way. INT: into the country of them Matthew 4:16 N-DFS Matthew 8:28 N-AFS Mark 1:5 N-NFS Mark 5:1 N-AFS Mark 5:10 N-GFS Mark 6:55 N-AFS Luke 2:8 N-DFS Luke 3:1 N-GFS Luke 8:26 N-AFS Luke 12:16 N-NFS Luke 15:13 N-AFS Luke 15:14 N-AFS Luke 15:15 N-GFS Luke 19:12 N-AFS Luke 21:21 N-DFP John 4:35 N-AFP John 11:54 N-AFS John 11:55 N-GFS Acts 8:1 N-AFP Acts 10:39 N-DFS Acts 12:20 N-AFS Acts 13:49 N-GFS Acts 16:6 N-AFS Acts 18:23 N-AFS Strong's Greek 5561 |
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