Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, December 22nd, 2024
the Fourth Week of Advent
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South
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
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south : (1) נגב , neghebh , according BDB from root נגב , nāghabh , meaning "to be dry," the word most often used, in the Revised Version (British and American) capitalized (South) in those places where it seems to denote a particular region, i.e. to the South of Judah. (2) ימין , yāmı̄n , "right hand," "right." The derived meaning, "south," seems to imply an eastern posture in prayer in which the right hand is toward the South; compare Arabic yamı̂n , "right," and yemen , "Yemen," a region in Southwestern Arabia. (3) תּימן , tēmān , from the same root as (2) is often used for the south; also for the south wind ( Psalm 78:26; Song of Solomon 4:16 ). (4) ים , yām , literally, "sea" (Psalm 107:3 ). (5) דּרום , dārōm , etymology doubtful (Deuteronomy 33:23; Ezekiel 40:24 ). (6) מדבּר , midhbār , literally, "desert" (Psalm 75:6 , reading doubtful).
(7) λίψ , lı́ps , "south west wind" ( Acts 27:12 ). (8) μεσημβρία , mesēmbrı́a , literally, "mid-day"; "south" (Acts 8:26 ); "noon" (Acts 22:6 ). (9) νότος , nótos , "south wind" (Luke 12:55; Acts 27:13; Acts 28:13 ); "south" (1 Macc 3:57; Matthew 12:42; Luke 11:31; Luke 13:29; Revelation 21:13 ).
The south wind is often referred to: see Song of Solomon 4:16; Job 37:9 (compare Job 9:9 ); Zechariah 9:14 (of Isaiah 21:1 ); Luke 12:55 .
Of the passages where South ( neghebh ) clearly refers to a particular region between Palestine and Sinai see: "And Abraham journeyed, going on still toward the South" ( neghbāh ) ( Genesis 12:9; Genesis 13:1; Deuteronomy 1:7 ). We read of "the South of the Jerahmeelites," "the South of the Kenites" (1 Samuel 27:10 ); "the South of the Cherethites," "the South of Caleb" (1 Samuel 30:14 ); "the South of Judah" (2 Chronicles 28:18 ); "Ramoth of the South" (1 Samuel 30:27 ).
In Psalm 126:4 , "Turn again our captivity, O Y ahweh, as the streams in the South," we have a figurative reference to the fact that, after a long period of drought, the dry watercourses are finally filled with rushing streams. The reference in Ezekiel 20:46 f to "the forest of the South" is to a condition of things very different from that which exists today, though the region is not incapable of supporting trees if they are only planted and protected.
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Bibliography Information
Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. Entry for 'South'. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/isb/s/south.html. 1915.
