Hebrew word · H6931

קַדְמֹנִי

hakadmoni

eastern

From qedem, "what lies in front / east / before (in time)." The adjective qadmōnî means "ancient, of old, eastern"; the feminine plural used as a noun means "ancient things, things of old."

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) former, ancient, eastern

1a) former, ancient

1b) eastern

Also means: qad.mo.ni (קַדְמֹנִי ": older" H6931H)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 43:18

Range of meaning

From qedem, "what lies in front / east / before (in time)." The adjective qadmōnî means "ancient, of old, eastern"; the feminine plural used as a noun means "ancient things, things of old."

Against the English

"Things of old" (KJV, ESV, BSB) is accurate. NIV's "the past" makes it more general and personal.

Used elsewhere in the period

Rare. Compare 1 Sam 24:13 ("the proverb of the ancients," mešal haqqadmōnî) and Ezek 38:17 ("in former days"). The LXX translates it ta archaia, "the ancient things," the same phrase Paul uses in 2 Cor 5:17.

From the study of Ezekiel 11:1

Range of meaning

The root qdm means "in front, before". Because ancient Israelites oriented themselves by facing the sunrise, "in front" came to mean east. In time it also meant former, ancient ("what came before"). Qadmônî is "eastern" or "former". Qādîm is "east" or "east wind", and -â adds the sense "toward".

Against the English

KJV/WEB say "east gate… which looketh/looks eastward" and keep the doubling. BSB/NIV fold it into one phrase, "the gate… that faces east". That is accurate, but it loses the emphasis.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Ezekiel the east is charged with meaning. In 8:16 men in the inner court face east with their backs to the temple, bowing to the sun. In 10:19 the Glory stops "at the entrance of the east gate". In 11:23 it leaves for "the mountain east of the city". In 43:1–4 it returns "by way of the gate facing east". In 44:1–2 that gate is shut for good because YHWH has entered by it. In 47:1 the healing river flows east from the temple.

Similar words

Where it appears

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 24:13 הַקַּדְמֹנִ֔י the ancient[s]

    As the old proverb says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand will never be against you.

Job · 1

  1. Job 18:20 וְ֝קַדְמֹנִ֗ים and [those] before

    Those in the west are appalled at his fate, while those in the east tremble in horror.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 43:18 וְקַדְמֹנִיּ֖וֹת and ancient [things]

    “Do not call to mind the former things; pay no attention to the things of old.

    Here: "And the things of old," from qedem, "before, long ago." It is a rare word that echoes "former things" in the first half of the line and pushes the events further back into the founding past.

Ezekiel · 4

  1. Ezekiel 10:19 הַקַּדְמוֹנִ֔י <the> eastern

    As I watched, the cherubim lifted their wings and rose up from the ground, with the wheels beside them as they went. And they stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the LORD, with the glory of the God of Israel above them.

  2. Ezekiel 11:1 הַקַּדְמוֹנִי֙ <the> eastern

    Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the LORD that faces east. And there at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were leaders of the people.

    Here: "The eastern (one)." It names which gate: the main gate on the temple's east–west line. This is the same gate where the divine Glory had just stopped (10:19).

  3. Ezekiel 38:17 קַדְמוֹנִ֗ים former

    This is what the Lord GOD says: Are you the one of whom I have spoken in former days through My servants, the prophets of Israel, who in those times prophesied for years that I would bring you against them?

  4. Ezekiel 47:18 הַקַּדְמוֹנִ֖י <the> eastern

    On the east side the border will run between Hauran and Damascus, along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel, to the Eastern Sea and as far as Tamar. This will be the eastern boundary.

Joel · 1

  1. Joel 2:20 הַקַּדְמֹנִ֔י <the> eastern

    The northern army I will drive away from you, banishing it to a barren and desolate land, its front ranks into the Eastern Sea, and its rear guard into the Western Sea. And its stench will rise; its foul odor will ascend. For He has done great things.

    Here: 'The front/eastern sea'. Israelites took their bearings facing east, so 'front' meant east. This is the Dead Sea (also Ezek 47:18; Zech 14:8).

Zechariah · 1

  1. Zechariah 14:8 הַקַּדְמוֹנִ֔י <the> eastern

    And on that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it toward the Eastern Sea and the other half toward the Western Sea, in summer and winter alike.

    Here: From qedem, 'front', which also means 'east', because a Hebrew speaker got his bearings by facing the sunrise. 'The front sea' is the eastern sea, the Dead Sea.

Malachi · 1

  1. Malachi 3:4 קַדְמֹנִיּֽוֹת׃ former

    Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in days of old and years gone by.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.