The Relationship Betwen Adam (Man) & Adama (Land)
The Hebrew word for “land” or “ground” is “adama.”
And the word for “man” or “mankind” is “adam.”
The word “adam” (man) is clearly a derivative of the word “adama” (ground).
In Hebrew, these words are clearly connected, but when they get translated into English, they lose their similarity. To the ancient Israelites, the words “adama” and “adam” would have sounded connected like the English words “earth” and “earthling.” Every time the Bible talks about “man” or “mankind,” it should feel more like the English word “earthling.”
Describing people as “earthings” reminds me of how small we are. We are just these tiny little groundings that dwell on one small planet in a much larger universe. From God’s perspective, we are like tiny little ants that were made from soil, work in the soil, and will eventually turn back into soil.
Man was Made from the Ground
Genesis 2:7 reads,
“Jehovah God formed adam (man) from the soil of the adama (ground) and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils.”
Every time the Hebrew readers would have read the word “man” throughout the entire Old Testament, they would have been reminded of how man is just a lump of soil that God chose to animate with life. Our origins are from dirt. That is pretty humbling.
Man will Return to the Ground
Not only was man formed from the dirt, but in Genesis 3:19 God reminded Adam that he would return to the adama (ground) when he died.
“You are soil, and to soil you will return.”
At the end of time, we will just become dirt again. That is humbling.
The Ground is Man’s Domain
After Adam at the forbidden fruit, Genesis 3:23 says,
“Jehovah God banished him from the garden of Eden to cultivate the adama (ground) from which he was taken.”
God gave man dominion over the soil. We were made to cultivate the earth and responsibly exercise dominion over our domain.
Man’s Curse Affected the Ground
After Adam ate the fruit, God tells Adam,
“Cursed is the adama (ground) because of you (adam).
—Genesis 3:17
Because Adam was a lump of soil that had been animated, when he disobeyed, his curse also fell on the entire adama (ground). God gave us the earth to live in and work in as our domain, but that means we are also responsible for it.
Conclusion
When I think about humanity, I want to view us through God’s eyes. Every time I read about man or mankind in scripture, I want to remember how small we are and how big he is.