Meaning
(1) `aroth, "the meadows (the King James Version "paper reeds") by the Nile" (Isa 19:7); ma`areh-gabha`, the King James Version "meadows of Gibeah," the Revised Version (British and American) "Maareh-geba," the Revised Version margin "the meadow of Geba, or Gibeah" (Jud 20:33); from `arah, "to be naked"; compare Arabic ariya, "to be naked," `ara'a', "a bare tract of land." `Aroth and ma`areh signify tracts bare of trees.
(2) 'achu, in Pharaoh's dream of the kine, the King James Version "meadow," the Revised Version (British and American) "reed grass" (Gen 41:2, Gen 41:18). 'Achu is found also in Job 8:11, the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) "flag," the Revised Version margin "reed-grass." According to Gesenius, achu is an Egyptian word denoting the vegetation of marshy ground.
(3) 'abhel keramim, "Abel-cheramim," the Revised Version margin "The meadow of vineyards," the King James Version "the plain (the King James Version margin, "Abel") of the vineyards" (Jud 11:33); "Abel-beth-maacah" (1Ki 15:20, 2Ki 15:29; compare 2Sa 20:14, 2Sa 20:15, 2Sa 20:18); "Abel-shittim" (Nu 33:49; compare Num 25:1, Jos 2:1, Jos 3:1, Jdg 7:22, Joe 3:18, Mic 6:5); "Abel-meholah" (Jdg 7:22, 1Ki 4:12, 1Ki 19:16); "Abel-maim" (2Ch 16:4); "Abel-mizraim" (Ge 50:11); "stone," the King James Version "Abel," the Revised Version margin "Abel," that is "a meadow" (1Sa 6:18); compare Arabic 'abal, "green grass," and 'abalat, "unhealthy marshy ground," from wabal, "to rain."
Alfred Ely Day
