ἔδᾰφος G1475
Ground, floor, pavement; the bottom or base surface, whether earth outdoors or flooring indoors
This noun denotes the ground, floor, or any bottom surface—from ship bottoms and river beds to house floors and city pavements. In Acts 22:7, Paul describes falling 'to the ground' during his Damascus road encounter. Classical usage shows wide application: foundations, pavements, ground-floors, even the soil of one's homeland. The multilingual evidence is consistent (English 'ground', Spanish 'suelo', French 'sol'), all pointing to the fundamental surface upon which things rest or to which they fall.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Acts 22:7 describes Paul falling 'to the ground' (εἰς τὸ ἔδαφος) when confronted by the risen Christ. All target languages use their basic word for 'ground/soil' (Spanish 'suelo', French 'sol'), the surface of the earth. Classical range shows this extended to any bottom surface (ship bottoms, pavement, foundations), but here it's simply the road surface Paul collapsed upon. The word can also mean 'ground' in the sense of homeland territory, though that's not relevant to Acts 22. 1×
AR["الْأَرْضِ"]·ben["মাটিতে"]·DE["ἔδαφος"]·EN["ground"]·FR["sol"]·heb["אֲדָמָה"]·HI["भूमि"]·ID["tanah,"]·IT["suolo"]·jav["siti,"]·KO["땅으로"]·RU["землю"]·ES["suelo"]·SW["ardhi"]·TR["yere"]·urd["زمین"]
Related Senses
H8033 1. There (locative adverb) (835×)H7760a 1. put, place, set physically (444×)H8064 1. heavens / sky (329×)H5439 1. around, all around (spatial) (319×)H4057b 1. wilderness, desert region (270×)H3220 1. sea, body of water (269×)H0520a 1. cubit (unit of length) (246×)H0127 1. ground, land (territory) (210×)H3383 1. Jordan River (proper noun) (183×)G1093 1. earth, the world (176×)H5800a 1. forsake, abandon (Qal active) (166×)H8121 1. sun (celestial body) (133×)H7126 1. offer, present sacrificially (122×)H6828 1. north, cardinal direction (120×)H2351 1. outside, exterior space (119×)H5104 1. river, stream (119×)H7341 1. width, breadth (101×)G1563 1. there (95×)H7126 2. draw near, approach (95×)G2281 1. sea, large body of water (91×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἔδᾰφος, εος, τό, bottom, foundation, base of anything, τῆς κατασκευῆς τὰ ἐ. Refs 5th c.BC+; ἔ. νηός bottom of a ship, Refs 8th c.BC+; ἔ. ποταμοῦ, τῆς θαλάττης, Refs 5th c.BC+; [ποτηρίου] Refs 5th c.BC+ __2 ground-floor, pavement, οἴκου Refs 5th c.BC+; καθελεῖν ἐς ἔ. raze to the ground, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἔπεσον εἰς τὸ ἔ. NT+3rd c.AD+ __3 ground, soil, περὶ τοῦ τῆς πατρίδος ἐδάφους ἀγωνίζεσθαι for…