Bible Dictionaries
Country

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

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

primarily signifies "one's fatherland, native country, of one's own town," Matthew 13:54,57; Mark 6:1,4; Luke 4:23,24; John 4:44; Hebrews 11:14 .

properly denotes "the space lying between two limits or places;" accordingly it has a variety of meanings: "country," Matthew 2:12; 8:28; Mark 1:5 , RV (AV, "land"); Mark 5:1,10; Luke 2:8; 8:26; 15:13,14 , RV (AV, "land"), Luke 15:15; 19:12; 21:21; Acts 10:39 , RV (AV, "land"); Acts 12:20; 26:20 , RV (AV, "coasts"); Acts 27:27; in Mark 6:55 (in the best mss.) and Acts 18:23 , RV, "region." See COAST , FIELD , GROUND , LAND , REGION.

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

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

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

"upper," is used in the plural in Acts 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 Luke 1:39,65 .

signifies "to go or travel into a far country," lit., "to be away from one's people" (apo, "from," demos, "a people"), Matthew 21:33; 25:14; in Matthew 25:15 the verb is translated in the RV, "went on his journey" (AV, "took his journey"); Mark 12:1; Luke 20:9 , "went into another country," RV. In Luke 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," Mark 13:34 .

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

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