Bible Dictionary
FALLOW
To leave land fallow is to let it rest without cultivation. Israel’s law required the ground to lie unused every seventh year, while related terms can also mean tilled or prepared ground.
Definition
Fallow describes land left without cultivation so that it may lie unused. In an older usage, the word may also refer to tilled or prepared ground.
Biblical Usage
Israel’s law required the ground to lie fallow one year in seven. The related term translated fallow in some older passages means tilled ground.
Historical Background
The Hebrew terms have different senses: one means leaving land idle, while another denotes tilled ground. The distinction accounts for differing translations in Exodus, Deuteronomy, Jeremiah, and Hosea.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>fal'-o (damam): Damam is translated only once in the sense of "fallow" (Ex 23:11). The law required that the Israelites allow their ground to lie fallow one year in, seven. the King James Version is (De 14:5) nir, and is translated "fallow" in its more obsolete sense of "tilled ground" in the King James Version (Jer 4:3; Ho 10:12).</p>