A Better Country

Hebrews 11 : 13–16

‘They were longing for a better country – a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.’

The word ‘country’ began as a description of land — ‘contrata (terra)’ in Latin, meaning ‘the land opposite the city’. The Greek ‘χώρα (chōra)’ goes further, meaning both ‘region’ and ‘homeland’, the space where one truly belongs. Across the old translations — Latin ‘patriam’, French ‘patrie’, Spanish and Portuguese ‘patria mejor’ — the meaning stays close to home.

This photograph was taken beside De Veluwe National Park in the Netherlands, a region of pine forest and sand plains. It shows what the earliest sense of ‘country’ once meant: not a nation, but open land beyond the walls. Hebrews speaks of a ‘better country’, a homeland not mapped or fenced, but prepared by God for those who seek Him.

Each word card set begins with an image that captures the theme of the word. The following cards trace its story: a main word card (or two, if extended), a junior version with a paler border, an etymological breakdown showing how the word travelled through time, and a list of sources. Some sets also include cards for related words or translations across other languages. Together they show where each word came from, how it changed, and what it still carries with it.