Exploring the Meaning of Eremos in Greek

ἔρημος describes what is deserted, and in these passages it names the setting where John the Baptizer preaches and where Jesus is led for testing, as well as a “deserted place” and a “desolate” house. The word helps frame scenes where people are removed from ordinary inhabited spaces, whether into the wilderness or into abandonment.

Root and Related Words

ἔρημος is connected with χώρα (chōra), “country” (Strong’s G5561).

Occurrences

Matthew 3:1 — “In those days, John the Baptizer came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,”

Here ἔρημος marks the location of John’s preaching: the “wilderness of Judea.” The crowd is implicitly drawn away from cities into a place characterized by being deserted; the setting matches the public, open-air character of a preacher calling out in a sparsely inhabited region.

Matthew 3:3 — “For this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make the way of the Lord ready! Make his paths straight!””

In this quotation, “the wilderness” is the place where a “voice” is heard crying out. ἔρημος strengthens the image of a call that rings out where there is little human settlement: the scene depends on the contrast between an emptied landscape and a loud summons to prepare “the way of the Lord.”

Matthew 4:1 — “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”

ἔρημος supplies the setting for Jesus’ temptation. The word’s force lies in removing Jesus from normal social supports into a deserted place, highlighting the starkness of the confrontation described (“to be tempted by the devil”).

Matthew 11:7 — “As these went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?”

Jesus recalls the multitudes’ movement “out into the wilderness.” ἔρημος here emphasizes the deliberate act of going out from populated areas into a deserted region. The question assumes the wilderness is open to the elements (“wind”), and that what is found there is not entertainment but something worth leaving ordinary life to seek.

Matthew 14:13 — “Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat, to a deserted place apart. When the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities.”

Here ἔρημος modifies “place”: Jesus withdraws “to a deserted place apart.” The narrative underscores separation—Jesus seeks a location defined by being deserted, yet the crowds overcome the distance and follow “from the cities,” turning a place meant for quiet withdrawal into a gathering point.

Matthew 14:15 — “When evening had come, his disciples came to him, saying, “This place is deserted, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves food.””

The disciples interpret the situation through ἔρημος: “This place is deserted.” The word functions practically—because the place is deserted, basic provisions are not readily available; the disciples’ suggestion (“go into the villages, and buy themselves food”) depends on the contrast between an uninhabited setting and nearby inhabited “villages.”

Matthew 23:38 — “Behold, your house is left to you desolate.”

ἔρημος shifts from landscape to habitation: “your house is left to you desolate.” The word portrays abandonment within an address to “your house,” presenting a house as something that can be left in a condition defined by desertedness, not merely as a location but as a standing place emptied of what once filled it.

Matthew 24:26 — “If therefore they tell you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t go out; or ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ don’t believe it.”

“He is in the wilderness” uses ἔρημος as a proposed location meant to lure people outward (“don’t go out”). The word’s value here is its plausibility as an out-of-the-way place: a deserted setting can be invoked to make a claim sound secretive or inaccessible, contrasted with another concealed place, “the inner rooms.”

Mark 1:3 — “the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord! Make his paths straight!’ ”

As in Matthew, ἔρημος belongs to the prophetic picture of a “voice” in a deserted place calling for readiness. The wilderness is not incidental scenery; it gives the proclamation a stark background in which the imperative rings clear: “Make ready… Make his paths straight!”

Mark 1:4 — “John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching the baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins.”

ἔρημος again locates John’s ministry. Mark pairs the deserted setting with intense religious action—“baptizing” and “preaching.” The wilderness becomes the arena for a public summons to “repentance,” suggesting a setting away from ordinary routines where a decisive message is heard.

Mark 1:12 — “Immediately the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness.”

Here ἔρημος is the destination of urgent movement: “drove him out into the wilderness.” The verb “drove” and the adverb “Immediately” intensify the transition into a deserted place; the wilderness is depicted as outside, away from where one would normally remain.

Mark 1:13 — “He was there in the wilderness forty days tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals; and the angels were serving him.”

ἔρημος is the enduring setting (“He was there… forty days”). The description fills out what a deserted place is like in this scene: it includes “wild animals,” and it is also a place where “the angels were serving him.” The wilderness is thus portrayed as a location of exposure and testing (“tempted by Satan”), yet not a place devoid of all presence, since other beings are mentioned within it.

Sense and Usage

Across these passages, ἔρημος consistently marks spaces defined by abandonment or lack of ordinary habitation. When it appears as “wilderness,” the word functions as a geographic and social contrast: people “go out” to it, Jesus is led or driven “into” it, and claims can be made about someone being found there. The recurring movement language (go out, withdraw, led up, drove out, followed on foot) highlights the wilderness as a place reached by leaving settled spaces behind.

When ἔρημος appears as an adjective describing a “place,” its practical implications come to the foreground: the disciples’ concern about food relies on the deserted character of the location and the need to reach “villages” for purchasing. When it describes a “house” as “desolate,” the word is applied to a built environment; desertedness is not only a property of open land but can describe a household left in abandonment. In all these scenes, the word’s contribution is to frame the action within settings where ordinary supports—crowds, commerce, and familiar structures—are absent or have been emptied, sharpening the urgency of preaching, the severity of temptation, or the weight of judgment.

Imagery

The imagery tied to ἔρημος in these verses is stark and directional: voices cry out, people go out, and a figure is led or driven into a deserted region. Even when the wilderness becomes crowded by followers, the narrative keeps the character of the place in view (“This place is deserted”), and even when the word is applied to a “house,” the same visual idea holds—something once occupied is now left in abandonment.

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).