Perhaps the most instructive passages for this usage are those which use right and left together with the regular words for the other directions: "North and south You have created them" (Ps. 17:7) "the boundary of the right," while "north of Damascus" is expressed as mi-semoʾ l le-Dammeseq (מִשְּׂמֹאל לְדַמָּשֶׂק), "to the left of Damascus" (Gen. " The southern border of Manasseh is described in the Book of Joshua as ha-gevulʾ el ha-yamin (הַגְּבוּל אֶל־הַיָּמִין, Josh. 13:9ff.), Abraham says (according to one interpretation): "If north, I will go south And if you go south, I will go north. Direction (Cardinal Points)īecause the Hebrews – like others – oriented themselves by the place where the sun rises, in many biblical passages "right" means "south" and "left" means "north." In Abraham's separation from Lot (Gen. This is paralleled in Ugaritic literature by the following passage: tʿ db ksu wyṯṯb lymn aliyn Bʿ l, "A throne is placed and he is seated to the right of Puissant Baʾal" ( II AB 5:108–10 Pritchard, Texts, 134). Finally, the right side (of the throne) is usually the side on which the king's or God's associates sit ( I Kings 2:19, the queen Zech. 1107, 2393a), the phrase šq ymn occurs, which is the same as the Hebrew shoq ha-yamin, שׁוֹק הַיָּמִין, "right thigh," quoted above. Gordon, Ugaritic Textbook (1965), Glossary, nos. 13), in a sacrificial context, the phrase Žṣb šmʾ al dalpm appears which may be provisionally translated: "the left protuberances of two bulls." In another ( RŠ 261.247 not yet published but quoted by C.H. Two Ancient Near Eastern parallels to this usage in sacrifice have been found at Ugarit. 18:18, etc.) "the right ear and the right thumb " (Ex. Right and left parts of the body also play an important role in sacrifices as may be seen from the following phrases which occur many times in the Book of Leviticus and elsewhere: "the right thigh" (Ex. Jacob explains his actions by stating that Ephraim will be greater than Manasseh (verse 19).
But Jacob crosses his hands, placing his right hand on Ephraim (verse 14) and his left on Manasseh, despite Joseph's objections (verse 18). 48: 12–20), whom Joseph places at the left and right sides of Jacob, respectively (verse 13), expecting his father to place his right hand on Manasseh (the firstborn) and his left on Ephraim, and then bless them. Right and left play an important role in Jacob's final blessing to his grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh (Gen. Examples for each of these usages will be presented below, as well as Ancient Near Eastern parallels wherever appropriate. As is the case in many cultures, right is favored over left in various contexts. The biblical usages of "right" and "left" are basically fourfold: right as opposed to left directions (cardinal points) strength and weakness merism. šumēlu Ugaritic, ( u) šmʾ al and common Semitic).