In the Bible, the East is often associated with invading armies and nomadic tribes (Judges 6:3, 33; 7:12; 8:10; Ezk.25.4, 10).
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.
Approximate location: 31.950, 35.924 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
(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.
The Hebrew term kedem properly means that which is before or in front of a person, and was applied to the east form the custom of turning in that direction when describing the points of the compass, before, behind, the right and the left representing respectively east, west, south and north. (Job 23:8,9) The term as generally used refers to the lands lying immediately eastward of Palestine, viz., Arabia, Mesopotamia and Babylonia; on the other hand mizrach is used of the far east with a less definite signification. (Isaiah 42:2,25; 43:5; 46:11)
EAST, EAST COUN'TRY. Gen 11:2; Job 1:3; Eze 47:8; Matt 2:1. The Hebrews used the word kedem, or "east," to describe any country which was before or in front of another — that is, to the east of it; and it generally refers to the region around and beyond the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, including portions of Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Babylonia.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
6 verses in 2 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H6924
Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,
Then all the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.