South: Heb. Negeb, that arid district to the south of Palestine through which
lay the caravan route from Central Palestine to Egypt
(Genesis 12:9; 13:1,3)
(Genesis 46:1-6) "The Negeb comprised a considerable but irregularly-shaped
tract of country, its main portion stretching from the mountains and
lowlands of Judah in the north to the mountains of Azazemeh in the
south, and from the Dead Sea and southern Ghoron the east to the
Mediterranean on the west." In
(Ezekiel 20:46) (21:1 in Heb.) three
different Hebrew words are all rendered "south."
1. "Set thy face toward the south" (Teman, the region on the
right,)
2. "Drop thy word toward the south" (Negeb, the region of dryness,)
3. "Prophesy against the forest of the south field" (Darom, the
region of brightness,)
In
(Job 37:9) the word "south" is literally "chamber," used here in
the sense of treasury (comp.)
(Job 38:22; Psalms 135:7) This verse is
rendered in the Revised Version "out of the chamber of the south."
