Ear EARRING, an old English agricultural term for ploughing, occurs in Ge 45:6; Ex 34:21; 1Sa 8:12, as a translation of the term חָרַישׁ (charish', ploughing, as it is elsewhere rendered). (See Critica Biblica, in, 210.) The same now obsolete word is used by our translators in De 21:4; Isa 30:24, to represent the Hebrews word עָבִד (abad', to till, as it is often elsewhere rendered). SEE AGRICULTURE; SEE EGYPT. So Shakspeare says "to ear the land that has some hopes to grow" (Richard II, 3, 2). It is etymologically connected with the Latin aro, to plough. It is directly derived from the Anglo-Saxon erian, " to plough, " and is radically the same with harrow. What we call arable land was originally written ear: able land. The root ar is one of wide use in all the Indo-European languages (see Miller, Science of Language, p. 239). SEE PLOUGH.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More