nôrth, (צפון, cāphōn, from root צפן, cāphan, “to hide,” i.e. “the hidden,” “the dark” (Gesenius); βοῤῥᾶς, borrhás, βορέας, boréas (Judith 16:4); septentrio (2 Esdras 15:43)): In addition to the many places where “north” occurs merely as a point of the compass, there are several passages in Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zephaniah, where it refers to a particular country, usually Assyria or Babylonia: Jeremiah 3:18, “They shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave for an inheritance unto your fathers”; Jeremiah 46:6, “In the north by the river Euphrates have they stumbled and fallen”; Ezekiel 26:7, “I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, from the north”; Zephaniah 2:13, “He will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation.”
While the site of Nineveh was Northeast of Jerusalem, and that of Babylon almost due East, it was not unnatural for them to be referred to as “the north,” because the direct desert routes were impracticable, and the roads led first into Northern Syria and then eastward (compare however Genesis 29:1, “Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the children of the east”).
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Author: International Std. Bible Encyclopedia
Keywords: North, North Country
Bible reference(s): Num 34:7, Eze 47:15-17, 2 Esdras 15:43, Ezekiel 26:7, Jeremiah 3:18, Jeremiah 46:6, Judith 16:4, Zephaniah 2:13
Source: James Orr (editor), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 5 volume set.
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.