Whereas Western cultures traditionally use north as the direction of orientation, ancient Semitic cultures oriented themselves toward the east. Consequently, as mentioned before, ancient maps, even through the Middle Ages, commonly placed the east, rather than north, at the top. Biblical Hebrew had two major words that were frequently translated as north: _tsawfone_ is defined in lexicons as meaning dark, hidden, or gloomy; and _semole_ means literally left hand (or, by implication, non-covenant). An additional Hebrew word that was occasionally rendered north, mezawreh, means scatterer. Of the direction north, one commentator stated that it conjures up ominous imagery. Another wrote that the ancients regarded the north as the seat of gloom and darkness. In accordance with the linguistic connotations of the word, anciently the direction north provoked symbolic images of coldness, darkness, obscurity, the land of the dead, night, the region of Lucifer and powers of evil, barbarianism, apostasy, and the judgment of God. From _The Lost Language of Symbolism: An Essential Guide for Recognizing and Interpreting Symbols of the Gospel_
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 22:35:53 +0000
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