Country

denotes "a field, especially a cultivated field;" hence, "the country" in contrast to the town (Eng., "agrarian, agriculture"), e.g., Mar 5:14, Mar 6:36, Mar 15:21, Mar 16:12, Luk 8:34, Luk 9:12 (plural, lit., "fields"); Luk 23:26; a piece of ground, e.g., Mar 10:29, Act 4:37. See FARM.

primarily signifies "one's fatherland, native country, of one's own town," Mat 13:54, Mat 13:57, Mar 6:1, Mar 6:4, Luk 1:4-24, Joh 4:44, Heb 11:14.

properly denotes "the space lying between two limits or places;" accordingly it has a variety of meanings: "country," Mat 2:12, Mat 8:28, Mar 1:5, RV (AV, "land"); Mar 5:1, Mar 5:10, Luk 2:8, Luk 8:26, Luk 1:15-14, RV (AV, "land"), Luk 15:15, Luk 19:12, Luk 21:21, Act 10:39, RV (AV, "land"); Act 12:20, Act 26:20, RV (AV, "coasts"); Act 27:27; in Mar 6:55 (in the best mss.) and Act 18:23, RV, "region." See COAST, FIELD, GROUND, LAND, REGION.

peri, "around," and No. 3, signifies "country round about," Luk 8:37; "country about," Luk 3:3, AV (RV, "region round about"); in Mat 14:35, Luk 4:37, AV, "country round about" (RV, "region round about"); Mat 3:5, Mar 1:28, Luk 4:14, Luk 7:17, Act 14:6. See REGION.

"a part," is rendered "country" in Act 19:1, RV.

Note: Some inferior mss. have No. 4 in Mar 6:55, for No. 3.

"upper," is used in the plural in Act 19:1, to denote "upper regions," with AV, "coast," RV, "country," i.e., the high central plateau, in contrast to the roundabout way by the river through the valley. See COAST.

"hilly" (from oros, "a hill, mountain"), is translated "hill country" in Luk 1:39, Luk 1:65.

signifies "to go or travel into a far country," lit., "to be away from one's people" (apo, "from," demos, "a people"), Mat 21:33, Mat 25:14; in Mat 25:15 the verb is translated in the RV, "went on his journey" (AV, "took his journey"); Mar 12:1, Luk 20:9, "went into another country," RV. In Luk 15:13 both versions translate by "took his journey" ("into a far country" being separately expressed); see JOURNEY. Cp. apodemos, lit., "away from one's own people, gone abroad," Mar 13:34.

Notes: (1) Ge, "earth, land," is translated "country" in the AV of Mat 9:31, Act 7:3; RV, "land." See LAND.

(2) Genos, "a race," is mistranslated "country" in the AV of Act 4:36 (RV, "by race"). See below.