Hebrew word · H8486

תֵּימָן

teiman

south

South, southern region, or the south wind (Ps 78:26). It comes from the root ymn, "right side." Israel oriented itself facing east (qedem, "front"), so the south was on the right hand. It is also the name of a region or clan of Edom (Amos 1:12; Jer 49:7).

Appears 23 times in 22 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) south, southward, whatever is on the right (so the southern quarter), south wind

1a) south (of territory)

1b) southern quarter (of the sky)

1c) toward the south, southward (of direction)

1d) south wind

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 43:6

Range of meaning

South, southern region, or the south wind (Ps 78:26). It comes from the root ymn, "right side." Israel oriented itself facing east (qedem, "front"), so the south was on the right hand. It is also the name of a region or clan of Edom (Amos 1:12; Jer 49:7).

Against the English

"South" is accurate. The Hebrew picture of "the right-hand quarter" is lost, but that does not change the meaning.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jeremiah 43–44 shows Judeans settled in Egypt (Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, Pathros) after 586 BC. The Elephantine papyri (5th century BC) record a Judean colony far up the Nile. Isaiah 43:3 has just named Egypt, Cush and Seba, all to the south.

From the study of Ezekiel 20:46

Range of meaning

Three different Hebrew words for "south". Teiman comes from yamin, "right hand": facing east, south is on your right. It is also the name of a district of Edom (Amos 1:12; Jer 49:7). Darom is rare and poetic (Deut 33:23; Job 37:17; Eccl 1:6; 11:3) and mostly appears in Ezekiel's temple vision (chs. 40–42). Its derivation is disputed. Negev means "dry land". It is the semi-arid region south of the Judean hills, centred on Beersheba, and also a general word for "south".

Against the English

KJV, BSB and WEB say "south" for the first two words, which hides the fact that Hebrew uses two different ones. BSB, ESV and NASB keep the third as the place name "Negev/Negeb". KJV and WEB turn it into "the south field / the field in the south". YLT shows the variety ("the way of Teman… unto the south… the south"), but "Teman" may make readers think of Edom.

Used elsewhere in the period

Piling up synonyms for emphasis is a known Hebrew poetic habit. In Ezekiel 21:2 (Heb. 21:7) the same three-part command comes back with the targets named: set your face "toward Jerusalem", drip "toward the sanctuaries", prophesy "against the land of Israel".

From the study of Psalm 78:26

Range of meaning

'Right-hand side', so 'south' (facing east, south is on the right). Used for the south, the south wind, and the Edomite region and town of Teman to the south-east of Judah.

Against the English

'South wind' is accurate. Ancient Greek and Latin versions read the two directions differently (see textual notes).

Used elsewhere in the period

Song 4:16: 'come, south wind (têmān)'. Zech 9:14: God marches 'in the storms of the south'. In Job 9:9 it means the southern sky.

Similar words

Where it appears

Exodus · 5
  1. Exodus 26:18 תֵימָֽנָה׃ south -ward

    Construct twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle,

  2. Exodus 26:35 תֵּימָ֑נָה south -ward

    And place the table outside the veil on the north side of the tabernacle, and put the lampstand opposite the table, on the south side.

  3. Exodus 27:9 תֵּ֠ימָנָה south -ward

    You are also to make a courtyard for the tabernacle. On the south side of the courtyard make curtains of finely spun linen, a hundred cubits long on one side,

    Here: Teyman comes from the word for "right hand", because someone facing east has the south on their right. The ending -ah means "toward". Together with negev it makes a heavy, precise phrase: "the south side, southward".

  4. Exodus 36:23 תֵּימָֽנָה׃ south -ward

    He constructed twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle,

  5. Exodus 38:9 תֵּימָ֗נָה south -ward

    Then he constructed the courtyard. The south side of the courtyard was a hundred cubits long and had curtains of finely spun linen,

Numbers · 3
  1. Numbers 2:10 תֵּימָ֖נָה [will be] south -ward

    On the south side, the divisions of Reuben are to camp under their standard: The leader of the Reubenites is Elizur son of Shedeur,

  2. Numbers 3:29 תֵּימָֽנָה׃ south -ward

    The clans of the Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle,

  3. Numbers 10:6 תֵּימָ֑נָה south -ward

    When you sound the short blasts a second time, the camps that lie on the south side are to set out. The blasts are to signal them to set out.

Deuteronomy · 1
  1. Deuteronomy 3:27 וְתֵימָ֥נָה and south -ward

    Go to the top of Pisgah and look to the west and north and south and east. See the land with your own eyes, for you will not cross this Jordan.

Joshua · 3
  1. Joshua 12:3 וּמִ֨תֵּימָ֔ן and from [the] south

    as well as the Arabah east of the Sea of Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), eastward through Beth-jeshimoth, and southward below the slopes of Pisgah.

    Here: 'On the south side.' Teman is the south, literally the right-hand side when facing the sunrise. It marks the southern edge of this stretch.

  2. Joshua 13:4 מִתֵּימָ֞ן from [the] south

    to the south, all the land of the Canaanites, from Mearah of the Sidonians to Aphek, as far as the border of the Amorites;

    Here: 'From the south' or 'on the south side.' Teman is literally the 'right-hand' side for someone facing east, so it means south. Here it most likely finishes the note on the southern Philistine and Avvite area from verse 3 before the list swings north to the Phoenician coast.

  3. Joshua 15:1 תֵימָֽן׃ [the] south

    Now the allotment for the clans of the tribe of Judah extended to the border of Edom, to the Wilderness of Zin at the extreme southern boundary:

    Here: Teman literally means 'the right-hand side', because a person oriented to the east has the south on the right. 'The end of the south' means the farthest southern point of the land. Teman is also the name of an Edomite district, which sits nicely beside the mention of Edom.

Job · 2
  1. Job 9:9 תֵמָֽן׃ [the] south

    He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, of the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.

  2. Job 39:26 לְתֵימָֽן׃ to [the] south

    Does the hawk take flight by your understanding and spread his wings toward the south?

Psalms · 1
  1. Psalm 78:26 תֵימָֽן׃ a south wind

    He stirred the east wind from the heavens and drove the south wind by His might.

    Here: The south, here the south wind. The word comes from the root for 'right hand': a person facing east (the basic orientation) has the south on the right. It balances 'east' in the first line.

Song of Songs · 1
  1. Song of Songs 4:16 תֵימָ֔ן O south wind

    Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind. Breathe on my garden and spread the fragrance of its spices. Let my beloved come into his garden and taste its choicest fruits.

    Here: 'South' (literally 'the right-hand side', since a person facing east has the south on the right), here the south wind, the hot wind. Paired with 'north', it means winds from wherever they may come.

Isaiah · 1
  1. Isaiah 43:6 וּלְתֵימָ֖ן and to [the] south

    I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth—

    Here: "And to the South." The word comes from the word for "right hand": an Israelite facing east, the sunrise, has the south on the right. Toward the south lay Egypt and Cush, both named just above in 43:3.

Ezekiel · 4
  1. Ezekiel 20:46 תֵּימָ֔נָה south -ward

    “Son of man, set your face toward the south, preach against it, and prophesy against the forest of the Negev.

    Here: "Toward the south". The ending -ah means "-ward". The word comes from "right hand": a person facing east, the way Israel oriented itself, has the south on the right. It can also be the place name Teman in Edom, but here it is a direction.

  2. Ezekiel 47:19 תֵּימָ֔נָה תֵּימָ֖נָה south -ward

    On the south side it will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, and along the Brook of Egypt to the Great Sea. This will be the southern boundary.

  3. Ezekiel 48:28 תֵּימָ֑נָה south -ward

    The southern border of Gad will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, then along the Brook of Egypt and out to the Great Sea.

Zechariah · 2
  1. Zechariah 6:6 הַתֵּימָֽן׃ the south

    The one with the black horses is going toward the land of the north, the one with the white horses toward the west, and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.”

  2. Zechariah 9:14 תֵּימָֽן׃ [the] south

    Then the LORD will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will sound the ram’s horn and advance in the whirlwinds of the south.

    Here: The word means 'south'. Literally it is the 'right-hand side', because Israelites faced east to orient themselves. It is also the name of a region in Edom. Both senses point to the southern desert, where violent storms came from and where old poems say God came from (Hab 3:3).

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