Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews (1909)
“
The sea said to the earth, "Take thy children unto thyself," and the earth retorted, "Keep those whom thou hast slain." The sea hesitated to do as the earth bade, for fear that God would demand them back on the day of judgement; and the earth hesitated, because it remembered with terror the curse that had been pronounced upon it for having sucked up Abel's blood. Only after God swore and oath, not to punish it for receiving the corpses of the Egyptians, would the earth swallow them.
— Earth
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The sea said to the earth, "Take thy children unto thyself," and the earth retorted, "Keep those whom thou hast slain." The sea hesitated to do as the earth bade, for fear that God would demand them back on the day of judgement; and the earth hesitated, because it remembered with terror the curse that had been pronounced upon it for having sucked up Abel's blood. Only after God swore and oath, not to punish it for receiving the corpses of the Egyptians, would the earth swallow them." in the context of "Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews (1909)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Earth" (Quotes)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 05, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Tags
About Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System, in both diameter and mass. Home to myriad species including humans, it is also referred to as Gaia, Terra, Tellus, the World, the Globe, the Blue Marble or the Blue Planet.
About Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System, in both diameter and mass. Home to myriad species including humans, it is also referred to as Gaia, Terra, Tellus, the World, the Globe, the Blue Marble or the Blue Planet.
View all quotes →