Topical Bible: Southward

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Topical Encyclopedia

The term "southward" in the Bible often denotes direction and geographical orientation, particularly in the context of the ancient Near East. It is used to describe movement or positioning relative to the cardinal direction of south. This term appears in various contexts, including the migration of people, the location of territories, and the orientation of sacred spaces.

Geographical Significance

In biblical times, the concept of moving southward was significant due to the geographical layout of the ancient Near East. The land of Canaan, central to many biblical narratives, was bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the west and desert regions to the south. Moving southward often implied traveling towards the Negev desert or into Egypt, a land frequently mentioned in the context of refuge or sustenance during times of famine.

Biblical References

1. Abraham's Journey: In Genesis 12:9, Abraham is described as journeying "southward" after receiving God's promise. "Then Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev." . This movement signifies a step of faith and obedience as Abraham follows God's call.

2. Tribal Allotments: The term is also used in the context of the division of the Promised Land among the tribes of Israel. For instance, in Joshua 15:1, the southern boundary of the tribe of Judah is described: "Now the allotment for the tribe of the descendants of Judah by their clans extended to the border of Edom, to the Wilderness of Zin in the extreme south." . This delineation highlights the importance of southward boundaries in defining tribal territories.

3. The Tabernacle and Temple Orientation: The orientation of sacred spaces, such as the Tabernacle and later the Temple in Jerusalem, often included specific instructions regarding southward positioning. In Exodus 26:18, the south side of the Tabernacle is mentioned: "Make twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle." . This orientation was part of the divine instructions given to Moses, emphasizing the importance of order and direction in worship.

Symbolic and Theological Implications

The southward direction can also carry symbolic meanings in biblical literature. It often represents a journey into the unknown or a movement towards divine encounters. For example, the south is associated with the Queen of Sheba's visit to Solomon, as she came from the "ends of the earth" to hear his wisdom (1 Kings 10:1-13). This narrative underscores themes of seeking wisdom and the recognition of God's blessings upon Israel.

Prophetic and Eschatological Contexts

In prophetic literature, southward movements or references can have eschatological implications. For instance, in Ezekiel 20:46, God instructs the prophet to "set your face toward the south; preach against the south and prophesy against the forest land of the Negev." . This prophecy uses the south as a metaphor for judgment and divine intervention, reflecting the broader themes of repentance and restoration.

Overall, the concept of "southward" in the Bible is rich with geographical, historical, and theological significance, reflecting the diverse ways in which direction and movement are woven into the biblical narrative.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (adv.) Alt. of Southwards.

2. (a.) Toward the south.

3. (n.) The southern regions or countries; the south.

Strong's Hebrew

8486. teman -- south, south wind
... Word Origin from the same as yamin Definition south, south wind NASB Word Usage
south (15), south side (2), south wind (1), south* (3), southward (1). ...
/hebrew/8486.htm - 6k

5045. negeb -- south country, the Negeb, south
... south country, the Negeb, south NASB Word Usage Negev (36), South (11), south (45),
south side (2), south* (3), southeast* (1), southern (2), southward (9). ...
/hebrew/5045.htm - 6k

3225. yamin -- right hand
... Word Origin from an unused word Definition right hand NASB Word Usage left-handed*
(2), right (49), right hand (75), right side (8), south (4), southward (1). ...
/hebrew/3225.htm - 6k

Library

A Description of the Sea-Coast, Out of Pliny and Strabo.
... "Moreover, from Tyre" (southward) "is Ptolemais, formerly called Ace. And between
Ace and Tyre, is a shore heaped with sands fit to make glass.". ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 10 a description of.htm

The Way the Sail is Set.
... Some ships sailed eastward, some sailed west, Some north, some southward trend.
How can ships sail this way and that? But one way blows the wind. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/orr/how to live a holy life/the way the sail is.htm

The Sea of Sodom
... There were two towns there, one named Sodom, the other Gomorrha." But that distance
was not directly southward, but by a very long declination eastward. ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 5 the sea of.htm

The Coast of the Asphaltites, the Essenes. En-Gedi.
... If the Essenes were the same with the Kenites in seat and place, and the Kenites
dwelt beyond Arad southward, or indeed even with Arad, which is asserted in ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 6 the coast of.htm

The Country of Jericho, and the Situation of the City.
... plain, yet a certain barren mountain hangs over it, narrow, indeed, but long; for
it runs out northward to the country of Scythopolis,"and southward, to the ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 46 the country of.htm

How Vespasian Upon Hearing of Some Commotions in Gall, Made Haste ...
... it, which extends itself to the land about Scythopolis northward, but as far as
the country of Sodom, and the utmost limits of the lake Asphaltiris, southward. ...
/.../chapter 8 how vespasian upon.htm

Preaching under Difficulties
... Those within the walls were almost equally busy in carrying away their money and
goods; and more and more of the gentry every hour rode southward as fast as ...
/.../wesley/the journal of john wesley/preaching under difficulties.htm

The Girdle of the City. Nehemiah 3
... That was also southward. ... Whence was the beginning of the valley of Ben-Hinnom: which,
running out below the city southward, at last bent into the west. ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 26 the girdle of.htm

The Burning of Athens.
... the desperate garrison which had been stationed to defend the pass, they went back
to their vessels, and prepared to make sail to the southward, in pursuit of ...
//christianbookshelf.org/abbott/xerxes/chapter x the burning of.htm

The Advance of Xerxes into Greece.
... called Magnesia, turns suddenly to the westward, and runs in that direction for
about thirty miles, when it again turns to the southward and eastward as before ...
//christianbookshelf.org/abbott/xerxes/chapter viii the advance of.htm

Thesaurus

Southward (42 Occurrences)
... of Southwards. 2. (a.) Toward the south. 3. (n.) The southern regions or countries;
the south. Multi-Version Concordance Southward (42 Occurrences). ...
/s/southward.htm - 20k

Northward (41 Occurrences)
... 14 Yahweh said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, "Now, lift up your eyes,
and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward ...
/n/northward.htm - 21k

Zin (9 Occurrences)
... Numbers 34:4 and your border shall turn about southward of the ascent of Akrabbim,
and pass along to Zin; and the goings out of it shall be southward of Kadesh ...
/z/zin.htm - 11k

Addar (5 Occurrences)
... Numbers 34:4 and your border shall turn about southward of the ascent of Akrabbim,
and pass along to Zin; and the goings out of it shall be southward of Kadesh ...
/a/addar.htm - 8k

Southern (9 Occurrences)
... NIV). Joshua 15:2 And their southern border was from the end of the salt
sea, from the tongue that turns southward; (DBY NIV). Joshua ...
/s/southern.htm - 9k

Goings (42 Occurrences)
... Numbers 34:4 and your border shall turn about southward of the ascent of Akrabbim,
and pass along to Zin; and the goings out of it shall be southward of Kadesh ...
/g/goings.htm - 22k

Uttermost (48 Occurrences)
... 15:1 The lot for the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families
was to the border of Edom, even to the wilderness of Zin southward, at the ...
/u/uttermost.htm - 23k

Westward (35 Occurrences)
... 14 Yahweh said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, "Now, lift up your eyes,
and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward ...
/w/westward.htm - 19k

Wadi (11 Occurrences)
... (See NIV). Ezekiel 47:19 The south side southward shall be from Tamar as far as
the waters of Meriboth Kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, to the great sea. ...
/w/wadi.htm - 9k

Extended (40 Occurrences)
... Joshua 15:1 And the lot for the tribe of the sons of Judah, for their families,
is unto the border of Edom; the wilderness of Zin southward, at the extremity ...
/e/extended.htm - 17k

Resources

Who was Naphtali in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

What can we learn from the tribe of Naphtali? | GotQuestions.org

Southward: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Southward (42 Occurrences)

Acts 8:26
But the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Rise up and go southward on the way which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza: the same is desert.
(DBY)

Genesis 13:14
Yahweh said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, "Now, lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Genesis 28:14
and thy seed hath been as the dust of the land, and thou hast broken forth westward, and eastward, and northward, and southward, and all families of the ground have been blessed in thee and in thy seed.
(YLT)

Exodus 26:18
You shall make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side southward.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

Exodus 26:35
And thou shalt set the table outside the veil, and the lamp-stand opposite to the table on the side of the tabernacle southward; and thou shalt put the table on the north side.
(DBY YLT)

Exodus 27:9
"You shall make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen one hundred cubits long for one side:
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

Exodus 36:23
He made the boards for the tabernacle: twenty boards for the south side southward.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

Exodus 38:9
He made the court: for the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, one hundred cubits;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

Exodus 40:24
He put the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting, opposite the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

Numbers 2:10
The standard of the camp of Reuben shall be southward according to their hosts; and the prince of the sons of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur;
(DBY YLT)

Numbers 3:29
The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward.
(KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS)

Numbers 10:6
And when ye blow an alarm the second time, the camps that lie southward shall set forward; they shall blow an alarm on their setting forward.
(DBY YLT)

Numbers 13:17
And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain:
(KJV WBS)

Numbers 34:4
and your border shall turn about southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass along to Zin; and the goings out of it shall be southward of Kadesh Barnea; and it shall go forth to Hazar Addar, and pass along to Azmon;
(WEB JPS ASV DBY)

Deuteronomy 3:27
Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift up your eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and see with your eyes: for you shall not go over this Jordan.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT RSV)

Deuteronomy 33:23
And of Naphtali he said: O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the LORD: possess thou the sea and the south.
(See NIV)

Joshua 12:3
and the Arabah unto the sea of Chinneroth, eastward, and unto the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, eastward, the way to Beth-jeshimoth; and on the south, under the slopes of Pisgah;
(See RSV NIV)

Joshua 15:1
The lot for the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families was to the border of Edom, even to the wilderness of Zin southward, at the uttermost part of the south.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Joshua 15:2
Their south border was from the uttermost part of the Salt Sea, from the bay that looks southward;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT RSV)

Joshua 15:3
and it went out southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and went up by the south of Kadesh Barnea, and passed along by Hezron, went up to Addar, and turned about to Karka;
(WEB JPS ASV NAS RSV)

Joshua 15:4
and passed on to Azmon, and went out by the torrent of Egypt; and the border ended at the sea. That shall be your border southward.
(DBY)

Joshua 15:8
The border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom to the side of the Jebusite southward (the same is Jerusalem); and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lies before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the farthest part of the valley of Rephaim northward.
(WEB JPS ASV)

Joshua 15:21
And the uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the coast of Edom southward were Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur,
(KJV WBS)

Joshua 17:7
The border of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethath, which is before Shechem. The border went along to the right hand, to the inhabitants of En Tappuah.
(See NAS RSV NIV)

Joshua 17:9
The border went down to the brook of Kanah, southward of the brook. These cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook, and ended at the sea.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS YLT NAS)

Joshua 17:10
Southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea was his border. They reached to Asher on the north, and to Issachar on the east.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

Joshua 18:13
The border passed along from there to Luz, to the side of Luz (the same is Bethel), southward. The border went down to Ataroth Addar, by the mountain that lies on the south of Beth Horon the lower.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Joshua 18:16
The border went down to the farthest part of the mountain that lies before the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is in the valley of Rephaim northward. It went down to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En Rogel.
(WEB JPS ASV YLT NAS)

1 Samuel 14:5
The forefront of the one was situate northward over against Michmash, and the other southward over against Gibeah.
(KJV WBS)

1 Chronicles 26:15
To Obed-Edom southward; and to his sons the storehouse.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

1 Chronicles 26:17
Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and for the storehouse two and two.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

Ezekiel 40:24
And he causeth me to go southward, and lo, a gate southward, and he hath measured its posts and its arches according to these measures;
(YLT)

Ezekiel 40:27
and the gate of the inner court 'is' southward, and he measureth from gate unto gate southward, a hundred cubits.
(YLT)

Ezekiel 40:44
And on the outside of the inner gate 'are' chambers of the singers, in the inner court, that 'are' at the side of the north gate, and their fronts 'are' southward, one at the side of the east gate 'hath' the front northward.
(YLT)

Ezekiel 40:45
And he speaketh unto me: 'This chamber, whose front 'is' southward, 'is' for priests keeping charge of the house;
(YLT)

Ezekiel 41:11
And the opening of the side-chamber 'is' to the place left, one opening northward, and one opening southward, and the breadth of the place that is left 'is' five cubits all round about.
(YLT)

Ezekiel 42:12
And according to the openings of the chambers that 'are' southward 'is' an opening at the head of the way, the way directly in the front of the wall eastward in entering them.
(YLT)

Ezekiel 47:19
The south side southward shall be from Tamar as far as the waters of Meriboth Kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, to the great sea. This is the south side southward.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

Ezekiel 48:10
And of these is the holy heave-offering for the priests, northward five and twenty thousand, and westward 'in' breadth ten thousand, and eastward 'in' breadth ten thousand, and southward 'in' length five and twenty thousand: and the sanctuary of Jehovah hath been in its midst.
(YLT)

Ezekiel 48:28
By the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, to the great sea.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

Daniel 8:4
I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no animals could stand before him, neither was there any who could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Zechariah 14:4
And stood have His feet, in that day, On the mount of Olives, That 'is' before Jerusalem eastward, And cleft hath been the mount of Olives at its midst, To the east, and to the west, a very great valley, And removed hath the half of the mount towards the north. And its half towards the south.
(See RSV)

Subtopics

Southward

Related Terms

Phoenix (2 Occurrences)

Rephaim (32 Occurrences)

Ramah (38 Occurrences)

Northeast (1 Occurrence)

Anab (2 Occurrences)

Soco (3 Occurrences)

Southeast (2 Occurrences)

Socoh (4 Occurrences)

Nebo (13 Occurrences)