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Country

χώραStrong’s G5561

chōra

Appears in 28 verses of the New Testament

In short

Chōra is the Greek word usually translated “region”, “country” and “land”. It appears in 28 verses of the New Testament.

“And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.”
Matthew 2:12 KJV
Meaning

Usually translated “region”, “country” and “land”. Open the dictionary entry below for the full range of meaning, with the verses it cites.

How it's translated
  • region 15
  • country 4
  • land 2
  • a country 2
  • fields 2
  • ground 1
  • countries 1
  • regions 1

Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.

Where it's used most
  • Luke 9
  • Acts 8
  • Mark 4
  • Matthew 3
  • John 3
  • James 1

6 books in all.

Related words
Explore in Scripture
All 28 verses, by book
Matthew 3
2:124:168:28
James 1
5:4
Greek dictionary

χώρα chōra · country

χώρα, -ας, ἡ [in LXX for אֶרֶץ, מְדִינָה, etc. ;] 1. most frequently in cl., a space, place. 2. land, i.e. (a) a land, country, region: Mat.12:2, Mrk.5:10 6:55, Luk.2:8 15:13-15 19:12, Jhn.11:54, Act.13:49 27:27; χ. Γαλατική, Act.16:6 18:23; Τραχωνίτιδος, Luk.3:1; τ. Ἰουδαίας, Act.26:20; τ. Ἰουδαίων, Act.10:39; pl., τῆς Ἰουδαίας κ. Σαμαρείας, Act.8:1; Γεργεσηνῶν (Γερασηνῶν, Γαδαρηνῶν) Mat.8:28, Mrk.5:1, Luk.8:26; ἐν χ. καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου, Mat.4:16; (b) land, property: Luk.12:16; (with) the country, opposite to the town; so in pl., Luk.21:21, Jhn.4:35, Jas.5:4.† …

From STEPBible’s Greek lexicon (based on Abbott-Smith).

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

How the English word “country” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.

COUNTRY, noun

[Latin, land adjacent to a city. Hence the citizen says, let us go into the country The Latin has conterraneus, a countryman.]

  1. Properly, the land lying about or near a city; the territory situated in the vicinity of a city. Mark 5:1Luke 8:26
  2. The whole territory of a kingdom or state, as opposed to city.
  3. Any tract of land, or inhabited land; any region, as distinguished from other regions; a kingdom, state or lesser district.“And they came into the country of Moab” Ruth 1:2
  4. The kingdom, state or territory in which one is born; the land of nativity; or the particular district indefinitely in which one is born.“Laban said, it must not be so done in our country” Genesis 29:26
All definitions and other forms of “country”
  1. The region in which one resides.“He sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country” Hebrews 11:9
  2. Land, as opposed to water; or inhabited territory.“The shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country” Acts 27:27
  3. The inhabitants of a region.“All the country wept with a loud voice” 2 Samuel 15:23
  4. A place of residence; a region of permanent habitation.“They declare plainly that they seek a country” Hebrews 11:14“They desire a better country a heavenly” Hebrews 11:16
  5. In law, a jury or jurors; as, trial by the country per pais.

COUNTRY, adjective

  1. Pertaining to the country or territory at a distance from a city; rural; rustic; as a country town; a country seat; a country squire; a country life; the country party, as opposed to city party.
  2. Pertaining or peculiar to ones own country
  3. Rude; ignorant.

Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.

Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Greek, not from any one translation.