קֶדֶם
kedem · east, of old
Hebrew word · Strong’s number H6924 · appears 87 times in the Bible
What is the Strong number?
Strong’s number identifies this word: use it to find the same word in other study tools.What it means
kedem (קֶדֶם) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “east, of old”.
What is in front. Since in Israel one faced where the sun rises, it means "east"; applied to time, "of old", "ancient times".
How to say it
ke·dem
Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.
Its senses in the Bible
- The side in front, where the sun rises; the east.
- Times long ago, from far back.
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)
Word study
What is in front; from there the east, the side where the sun rises, and in time, what is ancient, what was before. BDB: the front, of place or time; hence the east, and antiquity. Of the same root is קָדִים, east, east wind (H6921).
- The east: “in the east” Genesis 2:8Genesis 11:2
- “The sons of the east” Genesis 29:1
- “The Elohim of old” Deuteronomy 33:27Psalms 74:12
- “From of old” Isaiah 46:10Micah 5:2
- “Renew our days as of old” Lamentations 5:21Psalms 44:1
How we translate it
“East” 44 times, “old” 26, “eastward” 10, “ancient” 2, “before” 2. The context decides between space (“east”) and time (“of old”, “from of old”). בְּנֵי קֶדֶם is “the sons of the east” (1 Kings 4:30) and מִקֶּדֶם “from of old” (Isaiah 46:10).
How it is translated
The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.
- east ×44
- old ×26
- eastward ×10
- ancient ×2
- before ×2
- Long ago ×1
- eastern ×1
- origins ×1
Related words
Words that come from it
Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.
Where it appears
- Genesis×12
- Exodus×2
- Leviticus×2
- Numbers×10
- Deuteronomy×2
- Joshua×5
- Judges×5
- 1 Kings×3
- 2 Kings×2
- 2 Chronicles×1
- Nehemiah×1
- Job×3
- Psalms×11
- Proverbs×2
- Isaiah×9
- Jeremiah×3
- Lamentations×3
- Ezekiel×6
- Jonah×1
- Micah×2
- Habakkuk×1
- Zechariah×1
- Genesis 2:8
And YHWH Elohim planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
- Genesis 3:24
And he drove out the man, and he stationed east of the garden of Eden the cherubim and the flame of the sword that turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
- Genesis 10:30
And their dwelling place was from Mesha in the direction of Sephar, the hill country of the east.
- Genesis 11:2
As they journeyed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
- Genesis 12:8
From there he moved on to the mountain east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to YHWH and called on the name of YHWH.
- Genesis 13:11
So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward; and they separated, each from his brother.
- Genesis 13:14
YHWH said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up now your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward;
- Genesis 25:6
But to the sons of the concubines that were Abraham’s, Abraham gave gifts, and he sent them away from Isaac his son, while he was still alive, eastward, to the land of the east.
- Genesis 28:14
Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the ground will be blessed in you and in your offspring.
- Genesis 29:1
Jacob lifted up his feet and went to the land of the sons of the east.
- Exodus 27:13
The width of the courtyard on the east side, toward the sunrise, shall be fifty cubits.
- Exodus 38:13
And for the east side, toward the sunrise, fifty cubits.
- Leviticus 1:16
He shall remove its crop with its feathers and throw it beside the altar on the east side, into the place of the ashes.
- Leviticus 16:14
And he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the cover of expiation on the east side, and in front of the cover of expiation he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
- Numbers 2:3
Those who camp on the east side, toward the sunrise, shall be the banner of the camp of Judah by their armies; and the chief of the sons of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab,
- Numbers 3:38
And those who camp in front of the dwelling on the east, in front of the tent of meeting, toward the sunrise, are Moses and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary, as the charge of the sons of Israel; and the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.
- Numbers 10:5
When you blow an acclamation, the camps that camp on the east side shall set out.
- Numbers 23:7
And he took up his poem and said, “From Aram Balak, the king of Moab, has brought me, from the mountains of the east: ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!’
- Numbers 34:3
Your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom, and your south border shall be from the end of the Salt Sea on the east.
- Numbers 34:10
And for your eastern border you shall draw a line from Hazar-enan to Shepham;
- Numbers 34:11
and the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east of Ain; and the border shall go down and reach the slope of the Sea of Chinnereth on the east;
- Numbers 34:15
The two tribes and the half tribe have taken their inheritance on this side of the Jordan opposite Jericho, eastward, toward the sunrise.”
- Numbers 35:5
And you shall measure outside the city the east side two thousand cubits, and the south side two thousand cubits, and the west side two thousand cubits, and the north side two thousand cubits, with the city in the middle; this shall be for them the pasturelands of the cities.
- Deuteronomy 33:15
and with the top of the ancient mountains, and with the choicest of the eternal hills,
- Deuteronomy 33:27
A dwelling place is the Elohim of old, and underneath are the eternal arms. And he drove out the enemy from before you and said, ‘Destroy!’
- Joshua 7:2
Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” The men went up and spied out Ai.
- Joshua 15:5
And the east border was the Salt Sea as far as the mouth of the Jordan. And the border on the north side ran from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan;
- Joshua 18:20
And the Jordan bordered it on the east side. This was the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin, by its borders all around, according to their families.
- Joshua 19:12
and it turned back from Sarid eastward toward the sunrise to the border of Chisloth-tabor, and went out to Daberath, and went up to Japhia;
- Joshua 19:13
and from there it passed along eastward, toward the sunrise, to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and went out to Rimmon, turning to Neah;
- Judges 6:3
And whenever Israel had sown, Midian would come up, and Amalek and the sons of the east; they would come up against him.
- Judges 6:33
All Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east gathered together, crossed over, and camped in the valley of Jezreel.
- Judges 7:12
Midian and Amalek and all the sons of the east were lying in the valley like locusts in multitude; and their camels were without number, like the sand that is on the shore of the sea in multitude.
- Judges 8:10
Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their camps with them, about fifteen thousand, all who were left of all the camp of the sons of the east; and those who had fallen were a hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword.
- Judges 8:11
Gideon went up by the way of those who dwell in tents, east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he struck the camp, while the camp was feeling secure.
- 1 Kings 4:30
And the wisdom of Solomon surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.
- 1 Kings 7:39
And he put the bases, five on the side of the house on the right, and five on the side of the house on its left; and the Sea he put on the right side of the house, toward the east, facing south.
- 1 Kings 17:3
“Go from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.
- 2 Kings 13:17
He said, “Open the window toward the east.” And he opened it. Elisha said, “Shoot.” And he shot. He said, “An arrow of victory of YHWH, and an arrow of victory against Aram! You will strike Aram at Aphek until you have finished it.”
- 2 Kings 19:25
Have you not heard? From afar I made it, from days of old I formed it; now I have brought it about, and it has been for reducing fortified cities into heaps of ruins.
And 47 more times.