קָדִים

From the study of Ezekiel 40:6

Range of meaning

East or eastward. It is also the scorching "east wind" off the desert. It comes from the root qdm, "front, before, ancient," because a person oriented toward the sunrise.

Against the English

"East" in English is just a compass point. In Ezekiel the east gate carries the story of the book.

Used elsewhere in the period

Solomon's temple faced east (compare Ezek 8:16, where men in the inner court turn their backs to the temple to bow to the sun). In Ezekiel the glory of the LORD leaves by the east gate and goes east to the Mount of Olives (10:19; 11:23). It comes back "by the way of the east gate" (43:1–4). Afterward that gate is shut, because the LORD has entered through it (44:1–2).

From the study of Ezekiel 19:12

Range of meaning

'East' or 'the front' (the Hebrew faced east to get their bearings). Most often it means the east wind: the hot, dry wind off the Arabian and Syrian deserts, known today as the sirocco or khamsin.

Against the English

'East wind' is a correct translation. For an English reader, though, an east wind is just a direction and perhaps a chill. In Israel it meant searing heat, dust, and crops shriveling within days.

How it drifted

English and northern European weather gives 'east wind' no fixed meaning. Israel's climate gave it a very definite one.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gen 41:6, 23 (ears of grain 'scorched by the east wind'); Hos 13:15 ('an east wind, the wind of the LORD, will come up from the wilderness… his spring will dry up'); Jonah 4:8; Ps 48:7. In Ezek 17:10, a parallel vine allegory about Zedekiah: 'Will it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it?' The Greek Septuagint commonly renders it as a 'burning wind' (kausōn).

From the study of Ezekiel 43:2

Range of meaning

Qadim, from the root q-d-m ('front, before, ancient'): the east, the 'front' side for someone facing sunrise. It can also mean the hot east wind. Derekh: road, way, journey, direction, manner of life.

Against the English

BSB 'from the east' gives only the direction. KJV and YLT 'from the way of the east' keep the sense of a route.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezek 10:19: the glory stood at 'the east gate'. Ezek 11:23: it rested on 'the mountain east of the city'. Ezek 43:4: it entered 'by the way of the gate facing east'. Ezek 44:1–2: that gate is shut 'because YHWH the God of Israel has entered by it'. Ezek 8:16: men at the temple bow 'eastward to the sun' with their backs to the sanctuary.