Exploring the Meaning of Chora in Greek

χώρα means “country,” describing a defined expanse of land as a place people belong to, travel through, or are identified with. In the passages below it anchors scenes of return, movement, jurisdiction, rural life, and boundary-crossing.

Occurrences

“Being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.” (Matthew 2:12)

χώρα marks destination and belonging: “their own country” is the place to which they properly return, contrasted with the danger of going back “to Herod.” The word helps frame the route choice as not only a change of direction but a return to the sphere that is theirs.

“the people who sat in darkness saw a great light, to those who sat in the region and shadow of death, to them light has dawned.” (Matthew 4:16)

Here χώρα appears as “the region,” portraying a “country” as a setting in which people are situated (“sat in darkness”). The word contributes a geographic feel to the quotation: the dawning of light is pictured as reaching a particular stretch of land where people are located.

“When he came to the other side, into the country of the Gergesenes, two people possessed by demons met him there, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that nobody could pass that way.” (Matthew 8:28)

χώρα defines the locale entered after crossing “to the other side.” “The country of the Gergesenes” functions as a territorial label, setting the encounter within a recognized district. The word also sharpens the sense of contested space: in that “country,” the road becomes impassable because of the fierce men, so the country is not merely a backdrop but a place whose movement and access are affected.

“All the country of Judea and all those of Jerusalem went out to him. They were baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins.” (Mark 1:5)

χώρα broadens the crowd beyond a single city: “All the country of Judea” moves toward the Jordan. The word gathers towns and rural places into one sweeping expression, emphasizing the scale of the response as coming from the wider countryside as well as “Jerusalem.”

“They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.” (Mark 5:1)

χώρα again marks arrival and jurisdiction: crossing “the sea” culminates in entering “the country of the Gadarenes.” The term signals that what follows occurs within a distinct land-area identified with a people-group, not just at an unnamed shoreline.

“He begged him much that he would not send them away out of the country.” (Mark 5:10)

In this request, χώρα is the space from which departure is feared: “out of the country.” The word supplies the boundary implied by “out of,” turning the “country” into a defined territorial container. It is the difference between remaining within a known area and being expelled beyond it.

“and ran around that whole region, and began to bring those who were sick, on their mats, to where they heard he was.” (Mark 6:55)

χώρα appears as “that whole region,” a “country” conceived broadly enough for people to “run around” it in search of where he is. The word supports the picture of rapid, widespread movement across an area—villages and roads implied—resulting in the sick being carried in from throughout the countryside.

“There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.” (Luke 2:8)

χώρα here is explicitly rural: “the same country” is where shepherds are “staying in the field.” The word situates the scene outside an urban center, in an open-land setting where night watch over a flock makes sense, and it ties those shepherds to the surrounding countryside.

“Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,” (Luke 3:1)

χώρα, rendered “the region,” serves administrative geography: it is the sort of “country” that can be governed by a “tetrarch.” The word participates in a list that maps authority over named lands; it conveys that these are not merely travel destinations but recognized territorial divisions.

“They arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.” (Luke 8:26)

χώρα again names the landing place, now further located as “opposite Galilee.” The word frames the scene as a shift into another country across from a known one, emphasizing spatial relationship and reinforcing the sense of crossing into a distinct land-area.

“He spoke a parable to them, saying, “The ground of a certain rich man produced abundantly.” (Luke 12:16)

Within the parable’s opening, χώρα stands behind “the ground,” evoking “country” as productive land. The word contributes a concrete agrarian setting: a man’s country-land yields abundantly, providing the material basis for the story’s tension.

“Not many days after, the younger son gathered all of this together and traveled into a far country. There he wasted his property with riotous living.” (Luke 15:13)

χώρα is “a far country,” expressing distance not merely in miles but in separation from home and familiar ties. The word strengthens the narrative turn: leaving for a “country” far away enables the later description “There he wasted his property,” since the new country is the setting of his unchecked living.

Sense and Usage

Across these passages, “country” functions as a flexible geographic term that can be scaled up or down while still referring to a defined land-area. It can name a homeland (“their own country,” Matthew 2:12), a broadly conceived district (“the region and shadow of death,” Matthew 4:16), or a territory associated with a particular group (“the country of the Gergesenes,” Matthew 8:28; “the country of the Gadarenes,” Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26). In each case, χώρα identifies a place not as a point but as an area with boundaries and character.

Several uses highlight boundaries and crossing. Entering a χώρα is narrated as a meaningful transition: after a sea crossing, arrival “into the country of the Gadarenes” (Mark 5:1) or “the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee” (Luke 8:26) presents a change of setting with geographic definition. Conversely, being driven “out of the country” (Mark 5:10) depends on χώρα as a bounded space; the phrase presumes an inside/outside distinction that makes expulsion intelligible.

χώρα can also denote the countryside as the sphere of common life and movement. “All the country of Judea” going out to the Jordan (Mark 1:5) portrays an entire land-area participating, balancing “those of Jerusalem” with a wider rural population. Mark 6:55 similarly uses “that whole region” to convey how quickly news spreads across a country and how extensively people traverse it, carrying the sick “on their mats” from throughout the area. Luke 2:8 places shepherds “in the same country,” making the land itself—fields at night—an essential part of the scene’s realism.

Finally, χώρα supports narrative distance and social separation. The “far country” of Luke 15:13 is a plot device rooted in geography: the son’s departure to another country creates a new space where his actions occur “there,” away from oversight and community expectations. Even when χώρα appears in more formal geographic listing (Luke 3:1), it maintains the idea of land-as-domain: a “region” is the unit within which a ruler’s authority is exercised, underscoring that “country” can be spoken of not only as lived landscape but as jurisdiction.

Imagery

The passages paint χώρα with tangible images: roads through a district rendered dangerous (Matthew 8:28), a countryside streaming toward a river (Mark 1:5), people running throughout a whole region to bring the sick (Mark 6:55), shepherds in open fields at night (Luke 2:8), and productive land yielding abundantly (Luke 12:16). “Country” becomes the stage for movement, threat, provision, governance, and exile—an expanse that can be entered, left, crossed, or called one’s own.

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).