Hebrew word · H8042

יְמָנִי

hasemalit

left

Sema'li: 'left', and by orientation 'northern'. Hebrew speakers faced east to give directions, so the left hand pointed north and the right (yamin) pointed south, as in the region name Teman. Tsad: side, flank.

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

left, left side, on the left

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 Ezekiel 4:4

Range of meaning

Sema'li: 'left', and by orientation 'northern'. Hebrew speakers faced east to give directions, so the left hand pointed north and the right (yamin) pointed south, as in the region name Teman. Tsad: side, flank.

Against the English

'Left side' in every version, which is correct. What English cannot show is the built-in compass sense.

Used elsewhere in the period

North as 'left': Gen 14:15; Job 23:9. Ezek 16:46 says 'your elder sister is Samaria… who lives at your left hand' and Sodom 'at your right hand', meaning north and south of Jerusalem. Verse 6 then puts Judah, the southern kingdom, on the right side.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 4

  1. Leviticus 14:15 הַשְּׂמָאלִֽית׃ <the> left

    Then the priest shall take some of the log of olive oil, pour it into his left palm,

  2. Leviticus 14:16 הַשְּׂמָאלִ֑ית <the> left

    dip his right forefinger into the oil in his left palm, and sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD.

  3. Leviticus 14:26 הַשְּׂמָאלִֽית׃ <the> left

    Then the priest is to pour some of the oil into his left palm

  4. Leviticus 14:27 הַשְּׂמָאלִ֑ית <the> left

    and sprinkle with his right forefinger some of the oil in his left palm seven times before the LORD.

    Here: The left hand is the holding hand. It is passive in the rite, the vessel, while the right hand acts.

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 7:21 הַשְּׂמָאלִ֔י <the> north

    Thus he set up the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jachin, and the pillar to the north he named Boaz.

    Here: 'The left-hand one'. For someone facing east, the left is north. (The supplied data lists this lemma as יְמָנִי. The correct lemma for H8042 is שְׂמָאלִי.)

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 11:11 הַשְּׂמָאלִ֔ית <the> north

    And the guards stood with weapons in hand surrounding the king by the altar and the temple, from the south side to the north side of the temple.

2 Chronicles · 2

  1. 2 Chronicles 3:17 הַשְּׂמָאלִ֖י the north [one]

    Then he set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south and one on the north. The pillar on the south he named Jachin, and the pillar on the north he named Boaz.

  2. 2 Chronicles 23:10 הַשְּׂמָאלִ֔ית <the> north

    He stationed all the troops, with their weapons in hand, surrounding the king by the altar and the temple, from the south side to the north side of the temple.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 4:4 הַשְּׂמָאלִ֔י <the> left

    Then lie down on your left side and place the iniquity of the house of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their iniquity for the number of days you lie on your side.

    Here: 'The left (one)'. Hebrew speakers took their directions facing east, so 'left' was also the word-picture for north. If Ezekiel faced the model of Jerusalem (v. 3), lying on his left side pointed toward the northern territory of the former kingdom of Israel (compare Ezek 16:46, Samaria 'at your left hand').

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