A Brighter Day Begins with His Word.

BIBLE DICTIONARY + WORD STUDY

Left hand

Original Hebrew / Aramaic / Greek connected to this term

How to read this: there is rarely one magic “true meaning” hidden behind an English word. A lexicon records a word’s semantic range. The intended meaning is narrowed by grammar, sentence, author, historical usage and context.

HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H8040

שְׂמֹאל

se.mo.l — left

1) the left, the left hand, the left side 1a) left 1b) left hand 1c) north (as one faces east)

50 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →

HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H2148

זְכַרְיָהוּ

ze.khar.yah — Zechariah

A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at 1Ch.9.21; son of: Meshelemiah (H4920); brother of: Jediael (H3043J), Zebadiah (H2069J), Jathniel (H3496), Elam (H5867H), Jehohanan (H3076I) and Eliehoenai (H0454A) § Zechariah = "Jehovah remembers" 1) king of Israel, son of Jeroboam II 2) son of Meshelemiah of Shelemiah, a Korhite, and keeper of the north gate of the tabernacle of the congregation 3) one of the sons of Jehiel 4) a Levite of the second order in the temple band in the time of David 5) one of the princes of Judah in the reign of Jehoshaphat 6) son of the high priest Jehoiada, in the reign of Joash king of Judah, who was stoned in the court of the temple 7) a Kohathite Levite in the reign of Josiah 8) the leader of the sons of Pharosh who returned with Ezra 9) son of Bebai 10) one of the chiefs of the people whom Ezra summoned in council at the river Ahava; stood at Ezra's left hand when Ezra expounded the law to the people 11) one of the family of Elam who had married a foreign wife after the captivity 12) ancestor of Athaiah or Uthai 13) a Shilonite, descendant of Perez, grandfather of Athaiah 14) a priest, son of Pashur 15) the representative of the priestly family of Iddo in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua; possibly the same as 1 above 16) one of the priests, son of Jonathan, who blew with the trumpets at the dedication of the city wall by Ezra and Nehemiah 17) a chief of the Reubenites at the time of the captivity by Tiglath-pileser 18) one of the priests who accompanied the ark from the house of Obed-edom 19) son of Isshiah of Jesiah, a Kohathite Levite descended from Uzziel 20) 4th son of Hosah, of the children of Merari 21) a Manassite, father of Iddo 22) father of Jahaziel. He prophesied in the spirit 23) one of the sons of Jehoshaphat 24) a prophet in the reign of Uzziah, who appears to have acted as the king's counsellor, but of whom nothing is known 25) father of Abijah or Abi, Hezekiah's mother 26) one of the family of Asaph in the reign of Hezekiah 27) one of the rulers of the temple in the reign of Josiah 28) son of Jeberechiah who was taken by the prophet Isaiah as one of the 'faithful witnesses to record' when he wrote concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz

43 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →

HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H4918

מְשֻׁלָּם

me.shul.lam — Meshullam

A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 2Ki.22.3; father of: Azaliah (H0683) § Meshullam = "friend" 1) grandfather of Shaphan, the scribe 2) son of Zerubbabel 3) a Benjamite of the sons of Elpaal 4) a Benjamite, father of Sallu 5) a Benjamite who lived at Jerusalem after the captivity 6) a Benjamite 6a) perhaps the same as 3 or 4 7) a Gadite in the reign of king Jotham of Judah 8) son of Berechiah who assisted in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem 9) son of Besodeiah who assisted Jehoiada the son of Paseah in restoring the old gate of Jerusalem 10) a chief of the people who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah 11) father of Hilkiah and high priest probably in the reign of king Amon of Judah 11a) perhaps the same as 'Shallum' 12) a priest, son of Meshillemith or Meshillemoth, son of Immer, and ancestor of Maasiai or Amashai 13) a priest or family of priests who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah 14) a priest, head of the family of Ginnethon and representative of the house of Ezra in the days of Joiakim, the son of Jeshua 15) a priest, one of the princes of Judah at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem 16) a Kohathite or family of Kohathite Levites in the reign of Josiah 17) a Levite, one of the heads sent to Iddo to gather the Levites to join the caravan about to return to Jerusalem; a chief man who assisted Ezra in abolishing the marriages which some of the people had made with foreign wives 18) ancestor of a family of porters or Levites in days of Nehemiah 19) a descendant of Bani who had a foreign wife and put her away 20) one of the men who stood at the left hand of Ezra when he read the law to the people 20a) maybe the same as 17

25 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →

HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H4332

מִישָׁאֵל

mi.sha.el — Mishael

A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Egypt and Wilderness, first mentioned at Exo.6.22; son of: Uzziel (H5816); brother of: Elizaphan (H0469), Sithri (H5644), Micah (H4318J) and Isshiah (H3449I) § Mishael = "who is what God is" 1) the godly friend of Daniel who Nebuchadnezzar renamed Meshach; one of the three friends who with Daniel refused to make themselves unclean by eating food from the king's table which went against the dietary laws which God had given the Jews; also one of the three who were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to a graven image of Nebuchadnezzar and who were saved by the angel of the Lord 2) a son of Uzziel and a cousin of Moses and Aaron 3) one of those who stood at the left hand of Ezra when he read the law to the people

7 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →

HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H8041

שִׂמְאֵל

sa.mal — to go left

1) to take the left, go to the left 1a) (Hiphil) 1a1) to go to the left 1a2) to turn (aside) to the left (fig) 1a3) to use the left hand

4 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →

GREEK · G7401

ἐπιδέξιος

epidexios — fitting

1. towards the right , i. e. from left to right : 2. neuter plural as adverb, ὄρνυσθ᾽ ἑξείης ἐπιδέξια rise in order beginning with the left hand man , (Odyssey by Homer): —;hence auspicious, lucky , ἀστράπτων ἐπιδέξια (Iliad by Homer) 3. after (Homer), on the right hand , (Xenophon Historicus); τἀπιδέξια the right side , (Aristophanes Comicus) 4. as adjective, of persons, dexterous, capable, clever , (Aeschines Orator), etc. (ML)

0 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →

Historical dictionary entry

Among the Hebrews, denoted the north (Job 23:9; Gen. 14:15), the face of the person being supposed to be toward the east.

Scripture references

Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.

Compare other reference traditions

Look up Left hand in Smith’s Bible Dictionary and ISBE →