field Summary and Overview

(Heb. sadeh), a cultivated field, but unenclosed. It is applied to any cultivated ground or pasture (Gen. 29:2; 31:4; 34:7), or tillage (Gen. 37:7; 47:24). It is also applied to woodland (Ps. 132:6) or mountain top (Judg. 9:32, 36; 2 Sam. 1:21). It denotes sometimes a cultivated region as opposed to the wilderness (Gen. 33:19; 36:35). Unwalled villages or scattered houses are spoken of as "in the fields" (Deut. 28:3, 16; Lev. 25:31; Mark 6:36, 56). The "open field" is a place remote from a house (Gen. 4:8; Lev. 14:7, 53; 17:5). Cultivated land of any extent was called a field (Gen. 23:13, 17; 41:8; Lev. 27:16; Ruth 4:5; Neh. 12:29).

The Hebrew sadeh is applied to any cultivated ground, and in some instances in marked opposition to the neighboring wilderness. On the other hand the sadeh is frequently contrasted with what is enclosed, whether a vineyard, a garden or a walled town. In many passages the term implies what is remote from a house, #Ge 4:8; 24:63; De 22:25| or settled habitation, as in the case of Esau. #Ge 25:27| The separate plots of ground were marked off by stones, which might easily be removed, #De 19:14; 27:17| cf. Job 24:2; Prov 22:28; 23:10 the absence of fences rendered the fields liable to damage from straying cattle, #Ex 22:5| or fire, #Ex 22:6; 2Sa 14:30| hence the necessity of constantly watching flocks and herds. From the absence of enclosures, cultivated land of any size might be termed a field.

FIELD . The Hebrew word translated "field" conveys a contrary idea to ours, inasmuch as it implies the absence of enclosure. Thus the "field" is often contrasted with portions of land that are enclosed, such as a vineyard, Ex 22:5; Lev 25:3-4; a garden or a walled town, Deut 28:3,Deut 28:16; "unwalled villages or scattered houses ranked in the eye of the law as fields." Lev 25:31. "Field "means the open country apart from habitations, in Gen 25:27; Gen 37:15. Stones were used to separate one plot of ground from another; curses were threatened for removing these landmarks. Deut 19:14; Deut 27:1;Job 24:2; Prov 22:28. If such unfenced fields were pasture grounds, the herd or flock would require constant watching. Ex 22:5. A piece of ground of any size, from the mere land around a cave, Gen 23:13,Gen 23:17, to an entire inheritance, Ruth 4:5, was called a "field." In the N.T. the Greek for "fields" occasionally means farm-houses or hamlets, in distinction from villages and towns, but in the A.V. it is rendered "country." Mark 5:14; Mark 6:36,Mark 6:56. The knowledge of these unenclosed fields throws light upon the parable of the Sower. Some of the seed scattered as he draws near the end of his lot is certain to fall beyond the ploughed portion, and the birds will devour it. Again, the custom of running footpaths between, and not over, fields explains the Sabbath-walk of our Lord and his disciples. Luke 6:1. The little band did not trample down the ripened grain. They merely walked between the fields and plucked the wheat on either hand. The complaint was not brought against them because they took the wheat, but because they broke the Sabbath.

Unenclosed land. In the Hebrew definition of field, both the use of land (pasture, Genesis 29:2; Genesis 31:4; cropland, Genesis 37:7; Genesis 47:24; hunting ground, Genesis 27:3,Genesis 27:5) and the terrain [mountaintops, Numbers 21:20 (literal translation, "field of Moabi"); Judges 9:32,Judges 9:36;] were insignificant. The crucial distinction is between what is enclosed and what is open. A field may be contrasted with a tent (Numbers 19:14,Numbers 19:16), a camp (Leviticus 14:3,Leviticus 14:7), vineyards which were customarily enclosed (Exodus 22:5; Leviticus 25:3-4), or with a walled city (Leviticus 14:53; Deuteronomy 28:3,Deuteronomy 28:16). Villages without walls were regarded as fields (Leviticus 25:31). Fields were likewise distinguished from barren wasteland (Ezekiel 33:27). Fields were marked with landmarks (Deuteronomy 19:14). The NRSV translated the Hebrew term shedemah, one of the words generally translated field, as vineyard at Deuteronomy 32:32. The REB rendered the term differently each place it was used (terraces, Deuteronomy 32:32; slope, 2 Kings 23:4; vineyard, Isaiah 16:8; field, Jeremiah 31:40; orchards, Habakkuk 3:17).