The phrase 'am ha'ares appears in the Hebrew Bible over fifty times (in the singular form alone) throughout a number of materials including the Pentateuch (in J, E, and P), the Deuteronomistic History, the Major Prophets, and several postexilic compositions. A great deal of scholarly attention has been paid to the correct interpretation of these words, whether in dedicated studies (1) or in brief interpretative notes in related texts; (2) rarely is the phrase mentioned without a need for explication. That the term indicates something more than the plain meaning of its constituent words is evidenced by the variety of situations in which it is found and the throng of meanings to which it conceivably lends itself. In addition to the interpretative problem posed by the biblical occurrences, the meaning of the phrase seems to have been further skewed by its postbiblical connotations. The term can be found in writings of the rabbinic period as a pejorative term for a Jewish individual who is not properly educated in Jewish law, an idea that is clearly foreign to the biblical usage. (3) It is not unlikely that this tradition of using the phrase to convey an idea beyond what is explicitly worded has continued to influence interpreters into the modern period.
