Atomic Bible

A direction associated with invading armies and nomadic tribes.

East

Named in 6 verses across 2 books, first in Judges 6:3.

קֶ֫דֶםEast

About East Written by AI

In the Bible, the East is a direction that is often associated with invading armies and nomadic tribes. In the book of Judges, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern peoples are described as invading Israel, coming from the East with their livestock and tents (Judges 6:3, 33; 7:12; 8:10). These invasions were a recurring problem for the Israelites during the time of the judges. In the book of Ezekiel, the East is mentioned in the context of God's judgment against the Ammonites and Moabites, who were located east of Israel (Ezk.25.4, 10). The East was also the direction from which the Babylonians and Persians came to conquer and exile the people of Judah. In a broader sense, the East represented the vast desert regions and the nomadic tribes that inhabited them, often seen as a source of danger and instability for the settled populations of Israel and Judah.

Drafted by an AI model for STEPBible's TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Check it against the verses below.

Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897

(1.) The orient (mizrah); the rising of the sun. Thus “the east country” is the country lying to the east of Syria, the Elymais (Zech. 8:7).

(2). Properly what is in front of one, or a country that is before or in front of another; the rendering of the word kedem. In pointing out the quarters, a Hebrew always looked with his face toward the east. The word kedem is used when the four quarters of the world are described (Gen. 13:14; 28:14); and mizrah when the east only is distinguished from the west (Josh. 11:3; Ps. 50:1; 103:12, etc.). In Gen. 25:6 “eastward” is literally “unto the land of kedem;” i.e., the lands lying east of Palestine, namely, Arabia, Mesopotamia, etc.

M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, third edition (1897), public domain, from CrossWire. Shown as written; its Scripture quotes are from older translations.

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Where the Bible names it

  1. Judges 6:3

    Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,

  2. Judges 6:33

    Then all the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.

  3. Judges 7:12

    Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the other people of the east had settled in the valley like a swarm of locusts, and their camels were as countless as the sand on the seashore.

  4. Judges 8:10

    Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army of about fifteen thousand men—all that were left of the armies of the people of the east. A hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had already fallen.

  5. Ezekiel 25:4

    therefore I will indeed give you as a possession to the people of the East. They will set up their camps and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk.

  6. Ezekiel 25:10

    I will give it along with the Ammonites as a possession to the people of the East, so that the Ammonites will no longer be remembered among the nations.

From STEPBible's TIPNR, Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0): names, family, references and the AI written article. Verse text is the BSB.