land: soil
a.da.mah denotes the land as a place of dwelling and possession, as productive ground, and sometimes as the physical earth or soil.
The term most often identifies a land from which people may be removed, to which they may return, or on which they live. It also occurs for ground that yields produce or is worked, and for the physical earth, soil, clay, or dust in concrete scenes.
Senses in use
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Land as territory, homeland, or place of residence · dominant
In 1 Kings 8:34 the APB renders the clause as Israel being restored “to the land” given to their fathers; 2 Kings 17:23 describes Israel's exile “from his land.” Amos 9:15 likewise places the people on their land and contrasts that placement with being uprooted from the land given to them.
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Cultivated ground and its produce · common
In 1 Chronicles 27:26 the APB speaks of work done “for the service of the land,” while 2 Samuel 9:10 has servants work the land to bring food. Deuteronomy 28:4 and Deuteronomy 28:33 place the term in clauses about the fruit of the land, showing ground viewed in relation to cultivation and yield.
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Physical ground, soil, clay, or dust · occasional
In 1 Samuel 4:12 the APB renders soil placed upon a man's head, and 2 Samuel 17:12 compares an attacker's settling to dew settling “on the ground.” The same noun is used in 1 Kings 7:46 for a clay ground and in Daniel 12:2 for dust of the earth.
In the Anselm Paraphrase: The APB variously presents the term as “land,” “ground,” “earth,” “soil,” “clay,” and “dust” across these verses. Because the APB is not word-aligned, these renderings describe the clauses' contexts rather than fixed English equivalents for every occurrence.