ἐρημ-ία G2047
wilderness, desert, desolate uninhabited region
Denoting a lonely, uninhabited expanse, this noun evokes both physical hardship and spiritual testing. When Jesus feeds the multitudes, the disciples protest that the eremia offers no food (Matt 15:33; Mark 8:4). Paul lists wilderness perils alongside bandits and sea dangers (2 Cor 11:26), and Hebrews 11:38 memorializes the faithful who wandered in deserts. The Spanish 'desierto' and French 'désert' map directly, while the Greek carries overtones of abandonment and desolation absent from the more neutral English 'wilderness.'
Senses
1. sense 1 — A desolate, uninhabited region—wilderness or desert terrain far from human settlement and provision. The feeding narratives (Matt 15:33; Mark 8:4) stress the impossibility of finding bread in such emptiness. Paul catalogs it among mortal dangers faced during missionary travel (2 Cor 11:26), and Hebrews 11:38 honors the persecuted faithful who were driven into deserts and mountains. Spanish 'desierto' and French 'désert' both preserve the geographic and emotional barrenness the Greek implies. 4×
AR["البَرِّيَّةِ", "بَرَارِي", "بَرِّيَّةٍ"]·ben["নির্জনে", "মরুভূমিতে"]·DE["Wueste", "ἐρημίᾳ"]·EN["a-wilderness", "deserts", "wilderness"]·FR["désert"]·heb["מִדְבָּר", "מִדְבָּרוֹת"]·HI["उजाड़ों", "जंगल", "जंगल-में", "निरजन-स्थन"]·ID["padang-gurun"]·IT["deserto", "erēmiais"]·jav["ara-ara", "ara-ara-samun", "ara-ara-samun,", "ara-ara-samun?"]·KO["광야", "광야들에", "광야에", "광야에서"]·PT["deserto", "desertos"]·RU["пустыне", "пустыням"]·ES["desierto", "desiertos"]·SW["jangwa", "jangwa,", "nyika"]·TR["çölde", "çöllerde", "ıssız-yerde", "ıssızlıkta"]·urd["بیابان", "بیابانوں", "ویرانے", "ویرانے-میں"]
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
ἐρημ-ία, ἡ, __I of places, a solitude, desert, wilderness, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἕρπει εἰς τὰς ἐρημίας to solitary places, Refs 4th c.BC+ __II as a state or condition, solitude, loneliness, ἐρημίαν ἄγειν, to keep alone, Refs 5th c.BC+; of persons, isolation, destitution, Refs 5th c.BC+; δι᾽ ἐρημίαν from being left alone, Refs 5th c.BC+ __II.b of places, desolation, ἐρημίᾳ δοῦναί τι Refs 5th c.BC+;…