South

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

The designation of a large district of Judah; the Νegeb . (See Judah ; Palestine Palmer (Desert Of Exodus) notices how accurately  Jeremiah 13:19 has been fulfilled, "the cities of the South shall be shut up, and none shall open them." Walls of solid masonry remain; fields and gardens surrounded with goodly walls, every sign of human industry, remains of wells, aqueducts, reservoirs; mountain forts to resist forays of the sons of the desert; desolated gardens, terraced hill sides, and wadies dammed to resist the torrent; ancient towns still called by their names, but no living being, except the lizard and screech owl, amidst the crumbling walls. In  Judges 1:16 it is called "the wilderness of Judah South of Arad"; a strip of hilly country, running from the Dead Sea westward across Palestine, obliquely to the S.W. This tract is separated from the hills of Judaea or the mountains of Hebron by the broad plain of Beersheba ( Wady El Μalih , "the valley of Salt") extending from the Dead Sea westward or S.W. to the land of Gerar.

The cities were 29 ( Joshua 15:21-32); some of the names are not of distinct cities, but compound names. The land is now at rest, enjoying its Sabbath, because it did not rest in the Jews' Sabbaths ( Leviticus 26:34-35;  Leviticus 26:43). Besides the application of "the Negeb" to the whole district there are ethnological and geographical subdivisions; the Negeb of the Cherethites, the Negeb of the Kenites, the Negeb of Judah the Negeb of Arad, the Negeb of Jerahmeel. The Negeb of Caleb was a subdivision of, or identical with, the Negeb of Judah, as appears from  1 Samuel 30:14;  1 Samuel 30:16;  1 Samuel 25:2-3; compare with  Joshua 21:11-12).

The low country N. and W. of Beersheba was the Negeb of the Cherethites. The Negeb of Judah was South of Hebron in the outposts of Judah's hills; Tel Zif, Main, and Kurmul (Carmel), ruined cities, mark the Negeb of Caleb. Tel Arad marks the Negeb of the Kenites reaching to the S.W. of the Dead Sea. The Negeb of Jerahmeel lay between wady Rukhmeh (Corruption Of Jerahmeel) in the N., and wadies el Abaydh, Marreh, and Madarah, in the South. The Amalekites (in  Numbers 14:25) dwelt in the valley and yet "in the hill," for their land was a plateau, the sense of Sadeh "country" in  Genesis 14:7; compare  1 Samuel 27:8. Some lived in the hills, others in the fertile lower level to which the wadies debouch; so now the Azazimeh.

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

South ( νότος).—

1. The locality indicated .—The southern direction was called by the Hebrews Têman ( Jeremiah 49:20), that is, the country ‘on the right side’ to one facing eastwards in Palestine. In the same way their kinsmen and successors, the Moslem Arabs, called the southern part of their empire Yemen , the ‘right hand’ country, and designated Syria and Palestine to the North as al-Shâm , the ‘left’ region. The queen of Sheba was referred to as the queen of the South ( Matthew 12:42). In a more limited and special sense the Hebrews gave the name ‘South Country’ to the wilderness of Judaea and the region lying beyond it ( Joshua 12:8,  Acts 8:26).

2. Character of south wind .—Passing over an area with little or no vegetation, it was both hot ( Luke 12:55) and lacking in vitalizing power. The rarefaction produced by the sun’s rays on the bare desert gave rise to whirlwinds, which gathered up the dust in tall swaying columns that moved like evil genii over the land until they suddenly broke and dispersed ( Job 37:9,  Zechariah 9:14). It was essentially a transition current, being the dry east wind shifting round towards the humid west. It thus partook of the nature of both, and resembled the close steamy air of a palm-house. The allusion in  Job 37:17 is either to the lethargy induced by its enervating influence, or to the cool refreshment of the showers that usually follow it.

G. M. Mackie.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

In the Bible, as we might expect, the points of the compass are spoken of as they refer to the land of Palestine. The south would therefore indicate the part of the land which contained Judah's and Simeon's portions, or to the district still further south, a country little known.  Genesis 12:9 . It is called negeb in the Hebrew. Two other words are yamin and teman, signifying 'the right hand,' and are translated 'south' because the Israelites considered themselves as looking toward the East when speaking of the points of the compass.  1 Samuel 23:19,24;  Psalm 89:12;  Joshua 12:3;  Joshua 13:4;  Psalm 78:26;  Isaiah 43:6 . Another word is darom, 'bright, sunny region,' hence 'the south.'   Deuteronomy 33:23;  Job 37:17;  Ezekiel 40:24-45 . In the N.T., except in  Acts 8:26 (where the word is μεσημβρία,'mid-day,' because the sun is then in the south: as the Latin meridies, 'mid-day,' also signifies 'south'), the word is νότος, 'the south.'   Matthew 12:42; etc.

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( n.) A country, region, or place situated farther to the south than another; the southern section of a country.

(2): ( n.) That one of the four cardinal points directly opposite to the north; the region or direction to the right or direction to the right of a person who faces the east.

(3): ( a.) Lying toward the south; situated at the south, or in a southern direction from the point of observation or reckoning; proceeding toward the south, or coming from the south; blowing from the south; southern; as, the south pole.

(4): ( v. i.) To come to the meridian; to cross the north and south line; - said chiefly of the moon; as, the moon souths at nine.

(5): ( v. i.) To turn or move toward the south; to veer toward the south.

(6): ( adv.) From the south; as, the wind blows south.

(7): ( adv.) Toward the south; southward.

(8): ( n.) The wind from the south.

(9): ( n.) Specifically: That part of the United States which is south of Mason and Dixon's line. See under Line.

King James Dictionary

SOUTH, n.

1. The north and south are opposite points in the horizon each ninety degrees or the quarter of a great circle distant from the east and west. A man standing with his face towards the east or rising sun, has the south on his right hand. The meridian of every place is a great circle passing through the north and south points. Strictly, south is the horizontal point in the meridian of a place, on the right hand of a person standing with his face towards the east. But the word is applied to any point in the meridian, between the horizon and the zenith. 2. In a less exact sense, any point or place on the earth or in the heavens, which is near the meridian towards the right hand as one faces the east. 3. A southern region, country or place as the queen of the south, in Scriptures. So in Europe, the people of Spain and Italy are spoken of as living in the south. In the United States, we speak of the states of the south, and of the north. 4. The wind that blows from the north. Not used.

SOUTH, a.

1. In any place north of the tropic of Cancer, pertaining to or lying in the meridian towards the sun as a south wind. 2. Being in a southern direction as the south sea.

SOUTH, adv. Towards the south. A ship sails south the wind blows south.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 12:9 13:1,3 46:1-6 Ezekiel 20:46  1 Samuel 33:24 Joshua 15:4 Deuteronomy 33:23 Job 37:9  Psalm 135:7

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Psalm 126:4 (c) We may take this as a type of the soft, warm and blessed influences of GOD which the heart constantly craves. (See also  Song of Solomon 4:16).

Holman Bible Dictionary

Negeb

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

SOUTH . See Negeb.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

the country or quarter of the heavens which the Shemite, standing with his face to the east, supposes to be on his right hand. It is denoted by seven Hebrew words, nearly all of which refer to some characteristic of the region to which they are respectively applied.

1. נֶגֶב , Negeb (root נגב in Syr. and Chald. To Be Dry ) , probably derived its name from the hot drying winds which annually blow into Syria, over Africa and Arabia. "In March," says Volney, "appear in Syria the pernicious southerly winds with the same circumstances as in Egypt; that is to say, their heat, which is carried to a degree so excessive that it is difficult to form an idea of it without having felt it; but one can compare it to that of a great oven when the bread is drawn out" (Voyage en Syrie et. Aegypte, 1 297; comp.  Luke 12:55. "When ye see the south wind blow, ye say there will be heat" and see Kitto, Physical Hist. Of Palestine, month of March, p. 221, 222). The word is occasionally applied to a parched or dry tract of land. Caleb's daughter says to her father, "Thou hast given me a south," or rather "dry land;" אֶרֶוֹ הִנֶּגֶב (Vulg. Terram Arentem ); "give me also springs of water" ( Judges 1:15; comp.  Judges 1:9). At other times the word refers to those arid regions, notwithstanding their occasional fertility, over which the south wind blows into Syria. So the Sept. and Vulg. understood the "whirlwinds from the south" ( Isaiah 21:1 Δἰ Ἐρήμου , turbines ab Africo) . "The burden of the beasts in the south" is rendered Τῶν Τετραπόδων Τῶν Ἐν Τῇ Ἐρήμῳ ( Isaiah 30:6). At other times the word is rendered by Νότος and Λίψ , which latter is the Hellenized form of Libs, Ventus Ex Libya, ; the southwest wind, and, by metonymy, the quarter whence it blows. In several instances the Hebrew word is simply put into Greek letters, thus, Τὸν Ναγέβ ( Joshua 10:40); Τὴν Γῆν Ναγέβ ; . Alex. Τὴν Ναγέβ , Al. Νεγέβ (11:16); Ναγέβ v.r. Αγέβ ( Obadiah 1:19-20); and once, probably by a corruption, it is Ἀργάβ ( 1 Samuel 20:41), v.r. Νεγήβ , Νεγέβ , Ἐργάβ . The Vulg. renders the word by "meridies," "australis plaga," "terra meridiana," "auster ab Aphrico," "terra australis."

More than once the Sept. differs widely from the present Hebrew text; thus in  Ezekiel 21:4 [9] it renders מַנֶּגֶב צָפוֹ by Ἀπὸ Ἀπηλιώτου Ἕως Βοῤῥᾶ ; Vulg. "ab austro usque ad aquilonem;" so also in  Exodus 26:18 פְּאִת נֶגְבָּה is rendered Πρὸς Βοῤῥᾶν ; Vulg. "ad austrum." It is also used in the geographical sense in  Numbers 34:3;  Joshua 15:2;  1 Chronicles 9:24;  2 Chronicles 4:4;  Ezekiel 40:2;  Ezekiel 46:9, etc. But a further and important use of the word is as the name or designation of the desert regions lying at the south of Judsea, consisting of the deserts of Shur, Zin, and Paran, the mountainous country of Edom or Idumrea, and part of Arabia Petrsea. (comp.  Malachi 1:3; Shaw, Travels, p. 438). Thus Abraham, at his first entrance into Canaan, is said to have "gone on towards the south" ( Genesis 12:9), Sept. Ἐν Τῇ Ἐρήμῳ , Aquila Νότονδε , Symmachus Εἰς Νότον , and upon his return from Egypt into Canaan he is said to have gone "into the south" ( Genesis 13:1); Sept. Εἰς Τὴν Ἔρημον ; Vulg. "ad australem plagam," though he was in fact then travelling northward. Comp.  Genesis 12:3, "He went from the south to Bethel;" Sept. Εἰς Τὴν Ἔρημον ; Vulg. "a meridie in Bethel." In this region the Amalekites are said to have dwelt, "in the land of the south," when Moses sent the spies to view the land of Canaan ( Numbers 13:29), viz. the locality between Idumaea and Egypt, and to the east of the Dead Sea and Mount Seir. (See Amalekite).

The inhabitants of this region were included in the conquests of Joshua ( Joshua 10:40). Whenever the Sept. gives the Hebrew word in the Greek letters, Ναγέβ , it always relates to this particular district. To the same region belongs the passage "Turn our captivity as the streams in the south" ( Psalms 126:4); Sept. Ώς Χειμάῤῥους Ἐν Τῷ Νότῳ , "as Winter Torrents in the south" (Vulg. "sicut torrens in Austro"), which suddenly fill the wadys or valleys during the season of rain (comp.  Ezekiel 6:3;  Ezekiel 34:13;  Ezekiel 35:8;  Ezekiel 36:4;  Ezekiel 36:6). These are dry in summer ( Job 6:15-18). The Jews had, by their captivity, left their country empty and desolate, but by their return would "flow again into it." Through part of this sterile region the Israelites must repass in their vain application to Egypt ( Isaiah 30:6; comp.  Deuteronomy 8:15). It is called the Wilderness of Judaea ( Matthew 3:1;  Joshua 15:61; comp.  Psalms 85:6, Heb. or margin; see also  Jeremiah 17:26;  Jeremiah 32:44;  Jeremiah 33:14; Ezra 20:46, 47; 21:4; comp.  Obadiah 1:19-20;  Zechariah 9:7).

Through part of this region lay the road from Jerusalem to Gaza, "which is desert" ( Acts 8:26). Thus as Drusius observes, the word often means not the whole southern hemisphere of the earth, but a desert tract of land to the south of Judaea. Sometimes it is used in a relative sense; thus the cities of Judah are called "the cities of the south" ( Jeremiah 13:19), relatively to Chaldaea, expressed by "the north" ( Jeremiah 1:14; comp.  Jeremiah 4:6;  Jeremiah 6:1). Jerusalem itself is called "the forest of the south field" or Country, Like the Latin Ager ( Ezekiel 20:46; comp.  Genesis 14:7). (See Forest). Egypt is also called "the south" thus, "the king of the south" ( Daniel 11:5) is Ptolemy Soter and his successors; comp.  Daniel 11:6;  Daniel 11:9;  Daniel 11:11;  Daniel 11:15;  Daniel 11:25;  Daniel 11:29;  Daniel 11:40; but in the last-named verse Mede understands the Saracens from Arabia Felix (Works, p. 674, 816). (See South Country).

2. דָּרוֹ ם , Darom, which, according to Gesenius, is a word of uncertain derivation. It is in the Sept. rendered by Λίψ ,  Deuteronomy 33:23; by Νότος ,  Ecclesiastes 1:6;  Ecclesiastes 11:3;  Ezekiel 40:24;  Ezekiel 40:27-28;  Ezekiel 40:44-45;  Ezekiel 41:11; and by Θάλασσα ,  Ezekiel 43:18; Vulg. "meridies," "auster," "australis," "ventus australis." This word as a proper name is usually understood to be applied to the southernmost part of Judaea in  Job 37:17;  Ecclesiastes 1:6;  Ezekiel 21:2;  Ezekiel 40:24. Hence the name of "Daroma" is given by Eusebius and Jerome to the region which they describe as extending about twenty miles from Elettheropolis on the way towards Arabia Petraea, and from east to west as far as from the Dead Sea to Gerara and Beersheba. A little to the south of Gaza there is now a spot called Bab ed-Daron, a name probably derived from the fortress Daron, celebrated in the time of the Crusades. That fortress was built on the ruins of a Greek convent of the same name which, being traced so far back, may well be identified with Darom as the ancient name of this territory. In  Deuteronomy 33:23 the Hebrew word is applied to the sunny southern slope of Naphtali towards the Lake Huleh. (See Darom).

3. תֵּימָ , Teyman, and its adverb תֵּימָנָה , strictly what lies to the Right ; Sept. Νότος , Λίψ ; and sometimes the word is simply put into Greek letters; thus, Θαιμάν ( Habakkuk 3:3). Indeed, all the three preceding words are so rendered ( Ezekiel 20:46 [ Ezekiel 21:2]), Υἱὲ Ἀνθρώπου , Στήρισον Τὸ Πρόσωπόν Σου Ἐπὶ Θαιμάν , Καὶ Ἐπίβλεψον Ἐπὶ Δαρόμ , Καὶ Προφήτευσον Ἐπὶ Δρυμὸν Ἡγούμενον Ναγέβ , where perhaps the vocabulary of the translator did not afford him sufficient variety. The Vulg. here gives "viam austri," "ad aphricum," " ad saltum agri meridiani," and elsewhere renders the Hebrew word by "meridiana plaga," "ad meridiem." It occurs in  Exodus 26:35;  Numbers 2:10;  Numbers 3:29;  Numbers 10:6;  Job 9:9;  Job 39:26;  Psalms 78:26;  Song of Solomon 4:16;  Isaiah 43:6;  Habakkuk 3:3;  Zechariah 9:14;  Zechariah 14:4. In  Zechariah 6:6 it denotes Egypt. It is poetically used for the south wind, like Shakspeare's "sweet South ;" Psalm 77:26, Νότον , africum, and  Song of Solomon 4:16, Νότε ; for the explanation of the latter SEE North Observe that תֵּימָנָה and נֶנֶב are interchanged in  Exodus 26:18;  Exodus 36:23;  Ezekiel 47:1. (See Teman).

4. יָמַין , Yamin, also meaning the Right side and south. Thus,  Psalms 89:12, Thou hast made the north and the south;" Sept. Θάλασσα ; Vulg. Mare. The word is evidently here used in its widest sense, comprehending not only all the countries lying south, but also the Indian Ocean, etc., the whole hemisphere. Aquila has Βοῤῥᾶν Καὶ Δεξιάν ; Theodotion, Βοῤῥᾶν Καὶ Νότον . In some passages where our translation renders the word Right, the meaning would have been clearer had it rendered it South ( 1 Samuel 23:19;  1 Samuel 23:24;  2 Samuel 24:5;  Job 23:9).

5. חֵדֵר , Cheder, "Out of the south cometh the whirlwind" ( Job 37:9), literally "chamber" or "storehouse," Ἐκ Ταμιείων , ab interioribus. The full phrase occurs in  Job 9:9, ] חִדְרֵי תֵּמָ , Ταμεῖα Νότου , Interiora Austri, the remotest south; perhaps in both these passages the word means the chambers or storehouses of the south wind.

6. מַדְבָּר , Midbar, "Promotion cometh not from the south" ( Psalms 75:6), literally "wilderness," Ἀπὸ Ἐρήμον , desertis montibus. (See Desert).

7. מִיַ ם , Mayim, Water, "And gathered them out of the sands, and from the south" ( Psalms 107:3), Θάλασσα , Mare ; where Gesenius contends that it ought to be translated "west," though it stands opposed to צָפוֹ , as it is indeed so translated under exactly the same circumstances in  Isaiah 49:12. He refers to  Deuteronomy 33:23, and  Amos 8:12. It is also thus rendered in our version of the first of these references, and on the latter we can only refer to archbishop Newcome's Version Of The Minor Prophets (Pontefract , 1809), p. 51, 52.

In the New Test. we have Νότος in the geographical sense, Βασίλισσα Νότου , Regina : Austri,  Matthew 12:42, (See Sheba) and  Luke 13:29;  Revelation 21:13. The word Μεσημβρία is also translated "south" in  Acts 8:26, Κατὰ Μεσημβρίαν , contra meridianum. It is used in the same sense by Josephus ( Ant. 4, 5, 2). In Symmachus ( 1 Samuel 20:41) for נגֶב . Hesychius defines Μεσημβρία Τὰ Τοῦ Νότου Μέρη Καὶ Τὸ Τῆς Ἡμέρας Μέσον . The southwest Λίψ occurs in Paul's dangerous voyage ( Acts 27:12), "a haven of Crete," Βλέποντα Κατὰ Λίβα , Respicienten Ad Africum, by metonymy the Wind for the quarter whence it blows. The south wind is mentioned  Acts 27:13, Νότος , auster, and 28:13. (See Wind).

Egypt and Arabia lay south in respect of Canaan, and were therefore frequently mentioned by that designation. But from the Egyptians they may have learned the existence of nations living still farther to the southward, for representations of victories over the negroes, and of negro captives, are not uncommon on the tombs in the valley of the Nile. One which is here copied represents the triumph of one of the Pharaohs over a negro chief, probably designed to be the type of his nation. It is evident that the figure exhibits the usual characteristics of the negro features as strongly as they are found at the present day. (See Ethiopia).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

The country, or quarter of the heavens, which the Shemite, standing with his face to the east, supposes to be on his right hand. An important use of the word is as the name or designation of the desert regions lying at the south of Judea, consisting of the deserts of Shur, Zin, and Paran, the mountainous country of Edom or Idumea, and part of Arabia Petraea . In this region the Amalekites are said to have dwelt, 'in the land of the south,' when Moses sent the spies to view the land of Canaan , viz., the locality between Idumea and Egypt, and to the east of the Dead Sea and Mount Seir [AMALEKITES]. The inhabitants of this region were included in the conquests of Joshua . To the same region belongs the passage, 'Turn our captivity as the streams in the south' which suddenly fill the wadys or valleys during the season of rain (comp.;;;; ). These are dry in summer . Through part of this sterile region the Israelites must repass in their vain application to Egypt. It is called the Wilderness of Judea . Through part of this region lay the road from Jerusalem to Gaza, 'which is desert' .