Reference: Winds
American
Mt 24:31. The winds which most commonly prevail in Palestine are from the western quarter, more usually perhaps from the south-west, Lu 12:54. Not infrequently a north wind arises, Job 37:9, which, as in ancient days, is till the sure harbinger of fair weather; illustrating the truth of the observation in Pr 25:23, "The north wind driveth away rain." For the tempestuous wind called EUROCLYDON, see that article.
But the wind most frequently mentioned in the Bible is the "cast wind," which is represented as blasting and drying up the fruits, Ge 41:6; Eze 17:10; 19:12, and also as blowing with great violence, Ps 48:7; Eze 27:26; Jon 4:8. It is also the "horrible tempest" literally the glow-wind, of Ps 11:6. This is a sultry and oppressive wind blowing from the south-east, and prevailing only in the hot and dry months of summer. Coming thus from the vast Arabian desert, it seems to increase the heat and drought of the season, and produces universal languor and debility. Rev. Dr. Eli Smith, who experienced it effects during the summer, at Beyrout, describes it as possessing the same qualities and characteristics as the Sirocco, which he had felt at Malta, and which also prevails in Sicily and Italy; except that the Sirocco, in passing over the sea, acquires great dampness. This wind is called by the Arabs the Simoom, by the Turks the Samuel; and by the Egyptians the Camsin; and has long been regarded as a pestilential wind, suddenly overtaking travelers and caravans in the deserts, and almost instantly destroying them by its poisonous and suffocating death. But late and judicious travelers find no evidence that this wind is laden with any poisonous influence. It is indeed oppressively hot and dry, rapidly evaporating the water in the ordinary skin bottles, stopping the perspiration of travelers, drying up the palate and the air passages, and producing great restlessness and exhaustion. As it often blows with a terrible roaring and violence, it carries dust and fine sand high up into the air, so that the whole atmosphere is lurid, and seems in a state of combustion, and the sun is shorn of his beams, and looks like a globe of dull smoldering fire. Both men and animals are greatly annoyed by the dust, and seek any practicable shelter or covering. The camels turn their backs, and hide their heads from it in the ground. It is often accompanied by local whirlwinds, which form pillars of sand and dust, rising high above the ground and moving with swiftness over the plain. Such a tempest may have suggested some features in the prophetic descriptions of the day of God's power: "wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood," Joe 2:30-31; Ac 2:19-20.
Dr. Thomson describes another variety of hot winds or siroccos, often more overwhelming than those just mentioned. The sky is covered with clouds, and pale lightning play through the air; but there is no rain, thunder, or wind. The heat, however, is intolerable; every traveler seeks a refuge, the birds hide themselves in the thickest shades, the fowls pant under the walls with open mouths, and no living thing is in motion.
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And after them came up seven other heads, thin and wasted by the east wind.
Out of its place comes the storm-wind, and the cold out of its store-houses.
On the evil-doer he will send down fire and flames, and a burning wind; with these will their cup be full.
As the north wind gives birth to rain, so is an angry face caused by a tongue saying evil secretly.
And if it is planted will it do well? will it not become quite dry at the touch of the east wind, drying up in the bed where it was planted?
But she was uprooted in burning wrath, and made low on the earth; the east wind came, drying her up, and her branches were broken off; her strong rod became dry, the fire made a meal of it.
Your boatmen have taken you into great waters: you have been broken by the east wind in the heart of the seas.
And I will let wonders be seen in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun will be made dark and the moon turned to blood, before the great day of the Lord comes, a day to be feared.
Then when the sun came up, God sent a burning east wind: and so great was the heat of the sun on his head that Jonah was overcome, and, requesting death for himself, said, Death is better for me than life.
And he will send out his angels with a great sound of a horn, and they will get his saints together from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Then he said to the people, When you see a cloud coming up in the west, straight away you say, There will be rain; and so it is.
And wonders will be seen in heaven, and signs on the earth, blood and fire and smoke: The sun will become dark and the moon will be turned to blood, before that great day of the Lord comes in glory:
Easton
blowing from the four quarters of heaven (Jer 49:36; Eze 37:9; Da 8:8; Zec 2:6). The east wind was parching (Eze 17:10; 19:12), and is sometimes mentioned as simply denoting a strong wind (Job 27:21; Isa 27:8). This wind prevails in Palestine from February to June, as the west wind (Lu 12:54) does from November to February. The south was a hot wind (Job 37:17; Lu 12:55). It swept over the Arabian peninsula. The rush of invaders is figuratively spoken of as a whirlwind (Isa 21:1); a commotion among the nations of the world as a striving of the four winds (Da 7:2). The winds are subject to the divine power (Ps 18:10; 135:7).
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The east wind takes him up and he is gone; he is forced violently out of his place.
You, whose clothing is warm, when the earth is quiet because of the south wind,
And he went in flight through the air, seated on a storm-cloud: going quickly on the wings of the wind.
He makes the mists go up from the ends of the earth; he makes thunder-flames for the rain; he sends out the winds from his store-houses.
The word about the waste land. As storm-winds in the South go rushing through, it comes from the waste land, from the land greatly to be feared.
Your anger against her has been made clear by driving her away; he has taken her away with his storm-wind in the day of his east wind.
And I will send on Elam four winds from the four quarters of heaven, driving them out to all those winds; there will be no nation into which the wanderers from Elam do not come.
And if it is planted will it do well? will it not become quite dry at the touch of the east wind, drying up in the bed where it was planted?
But she was uprooted in burning wrath, and made low on the earth; the east wind came, drying her up, and her branches were broken off; her strong rod became dry, the fire made a meal of it.
And he said to me, Be a prophet to the wind, be a prophet, son of man, and say to the wind, The Lord has said: Come from the four winds, O wind, breathing on these dead so that they may come to life.
I had a vision by night, and saw the four winds of heaven violently moving the great sea.
And the he-goat became very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and in its place came up four other horns turned to the four winds of heaven.
Ho, ho! go in flight from the land of the north, says the Lord: for I have sent you far and wide to the four winds of heaven, says the Lord.
Then he said to the people, When you see a cloud coming up in the west, straight away you say, There will be rain; and so it is. And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, There will be heat; and so it is.
Fausets
The four represent the four quarters (Eze 37:9; Da 8:8; Mt 24:31; Jer 49:36). The N. wind was coldest (Song 4:16). The N. wind "awakes," i.e. arises strongly; the Holy Spirit as the Reprover of sin (Joh 16:8-11). The S. wind "comes" gently; the Comforter (Joh 14:16). The W. wind brings rain from the sea (1Ki 18:44-45); its precursor is cloud (Lu 12:54), prevailing in Palestine from November to February. The E. wind is tempestuous (Job 27:21) and, withering (Ge 41:23). The N. wind is first invoked (Song 4:16) to clear the air (Job 37:22); then the warm S. wind (Job 37:17; Lu 12:55); so the Holy Spirit first clears away mists of gloom, error, unbelief, and sin, which intercept the light of the Sun of righteousness, then infuses warmth (2Co 4:6), causing the graces to exhale their odor.
In Pr 25:23 "the N. wind driveth away (literally, causeth to grieve, so puts to flight) rain," so a frowning countenance drives away a backbiting tongue. So Vulgate, Chald., and Syriac less appropriately "bringeth forth rain." The N. wind prevails from June to the equinox, the N.W. wind thence to November. The E. wind, "the wind of the wilderness" (Job 1:19; 27:21; Jer 13:24). It is parching and penetrating, like the sirocco (Jon 4:8). The E. wind blowing from across the Red Sea, just at the Passover time of year, was the natural agency employed by divine interposition to part the waters of the Red Sea S. of Suez (Ex 14:21). The E. wind meant in Ge 41:6,23 is probably the S.E. wind blowing from the Arabian desert, called the chamsin, so parching as to wither up all grass; during it there is an entire absence of ozone in the air.
The samoom blows from the S.S.E.; blowing over the Arabian peninsula, it is parching when it reaches Palestine. Lake squalls (lailaps) are noticed Mr 4:37; Lu 8:23. The Greek (lips) name for S.W. wind, and the Latin (cores) N.W. wind, and the violent Euraquilon (not Euroclydon), E.N.E. wind, are noticed Ac 27:12,14. (See EUROCLYDON.) The E. wind symbolizes empty violence (Job 15:2; Ho 12:1; Israel "followeth after" not only vain but pernicious things) and destruction (Jer 18:17; Isa 27:8). Wind indicates speed (Ps 104:4; Heb 1:7), transitoriness (Job 7:7; Ps 78:39), the Holy Spirit (Joh 3:8; Ac 2:2; Ge 3:8 margin).
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And there came to them the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the evening wind: and the man and his wife went to a secret place among the trees of the garden, away from the eyes of the Lord God.
And after them came up seven other heads, thin and wasted by the east wind.
And then I saw seven other heads, dry, thin, and wasted by the east wind, coming up after them:
And then I saw seven other heads, dry, thin, and wasted by the east wind, coming up after them:
And when Moses' hand was stretched out over the sea, the Lord with a strong east wind made the sea go back all night, and the waters were parted in two and the sea became dry land.
And the seventh time he said, I see a cloud coming up out of the sea, as small as a man's hand. Then he said, Go up and say to Ahab, Get your carriage ready and go down or the rain will keep you back. And after a very little time, the heaven became black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab went in his carriage to Jezreel.
When a great wind came rushing from the waste land against the four sides of the house, and it came down on the young men, and they are dead; and I was the only one who got away safe to give you the news.
O, keep in mind that my life is wind: my eye will never again see good.
Will a wise man make answer with knowledge of no value, or will he give birth to the east wind?
The east wind takes him up and he is gone; he is forced violently out of his place.
The east wind takes him up and he is gone; he is forced violently out of his place.
You, whose clothing is warm, when the earth is quiet because of the south wind,
A bright light comes out of the north; God's glory is greatly to be feared.
So he kept in mind that they were only flesh; a breath which is quickly gone, and will not come again.
He makes winds his angels, and flames of fire his servants.
As the north wind gives birth to rain, so is an angry face caused by a tongue saying evil secretly.
Be awake, O north wind; and come, O south, blowing on my garden, so that its spices may come out. Let my loved one come into his garden, and take of his good fruits.
Be awake, O north wind; and come, O south, blowing on my garden, so that its spices may come out. Let my loved one come into his garden, and take of his good fruits.
Your anger against her has been made clear by driving her away; he has taken her away with his storm-wind in the day of his east wind.
So I will send them in all directions, as dry grass is taken away by the wind of the waste land.
I will send them in flight, as from an east wind, before the attacker; I will let them see my back and not my face on the day of their downfall.
And I will send on Elam four winds from the four quarters of heaven, driving them out to all those winds; there will be no nation into which the wanderers from Elam do not come.
And he said to me, Be a prophet to the wind, be a prophet, son of man, and say to the wind, The Lord has said: Come from the four winds, O wind, breathing on these dead so that they may come to life.
And the he-goat became very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and in its place came up four other horns turned to the four winds of heaven.
Ephraim's food is the wind, and he goes after the east wind: deceit and destruction are increasing day by day; they make an agreement with Assyria, and take oil into Egypt.
Then when the sun came up, God sent a burning east wind: and so great was the heat of the sun on his head that Jonah was overcome, and, requesting death for himself, said, Death is better for me than life.
And he will send out his angels with a great sound of a horn, and they will get his saints together from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
And a great storm of wind came up, and the waves came into the boat, so that the boat was now becoming full.
But while they were sailing he went to sleep: and a storm of wind came down on the sea, and the boat became full of water and they were in danger.
Then he said to the people, When you see a cloud coming up in the west, straight away you say, There will be rain; and so it is. And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, There will be heat; and so it is.
The wind goes where its pleasure takes it, and the sound of it comes to your ears, but you are unable to say where it comes from and where it goes: so it is with everyone whose birth is from the Spirit.
And I will make prayer to the Father and he will give you another Helper to be with you for ever,
And he, when he comes, will make the world conscious of sin, and of righteousness, and of being judged: Of sin, because they have not faith in me; read more. Of righteousness, because I go to the Father and you will see me no more; Of being judged, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like the rushing of a violent wind, and all the house where they were was full of it.
And as the harbour was not a good one in which to be for the winter, the greater number of them were for going out to sea, in order, if possible, to put in for the winter at Phoenix, a harbour of Crete, looking to the north-east and south-east.
But after a little time, a very violent wind, named Euraquilo, came down from it with great force.
Seeing that it is God who said, Let light be shining out of the dark, who has put in our hearts the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
And of the angels he says, Who makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire:
Smith
Winds.
That the Hebrews recognized the existence of four prevailing winds as issuing, broadly speaking, from the four cardinal points, north, south, east and west, may be inferred from their custom of using the expression "four winds" as equivalent to the "four quarters" of the hemisphere.
Eze 37:9; Da 8:8; Zec 2:6; Mt 24:31
The north wind, or, as it was usually called "the north," was naturally the coldest of the four, Ecclus. 43:20 and its presence is hence invoked as favorable to vegetation in
It is described in
as bringing rain; in this case we must understand the northwest wind. The northwest wind prevails from the autumnal equinox to the beginning of November, and the north wind from June to the equinox. The east wind crosses the sandy wastes of Arabia Deserts before reaching Palestine and was hence termed "the wind of the wilderness."
It blows with violence, and is hence supposed to be used generally for any violent wind.
Job 27:21; 38:24; Ps 48:7; Isa 27:8; Eze 27:26
In Palestine the east wind prevails from February to June. The south wind, which traverses the Arabian peninsula before reaching Palestine, must necessarily be extremely hot.
Job 37:17; Lu 12:55
The west and southwest winds reach Palestine loaded with moisture gathered from the Mediterranean, and are hence expressly termed by the Arabs "the fathers of the rain." Westerly winds prevail in Palestine from November to February. In addition to the four regular winds, we have notice in the Bible of the local squalls,
Mr 4:37; Lu 8:23
to which the Sea of Gennesareth was liable. In the narrative of St. Paul's voyage we meet with the Greek term Lips to describe the southwest wind; the Latin Carus or Caurus, the northwest wind
and Euroclydon, a wind of a very violent character coming from east-northeast.
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When a great wind came rushing from the waste land against the four sides of the house, and it came down on the young men, and they are dead; and I was the only one who got away safe to give you the news.
The east wind takes him up and he is gone; he is forced violently out of his place.
You, whose clothing is warm, when the earth is quiet because of the south wind,
Which is the way to the place where the wind is measured out, and the east wind sent out over the earth?
Be awake, O north wind; and come, O south, blowing on my garden, so that its spices may come out. Let my loved one come into his garden, and take of his good fruits.
Your anger against her has been made clear by driving her away; he has taken her away with his storm-wind in the day of his east wind.
I will have them smashed against one another, fathers and sons together, says the Lord: I will have no pity or mercy, I will have no feeling for them to keep me from giving them to destruction.
Your boatmen have taken you into great waters: you have been broken by the east wind in the heart of the seas.
And he said to me, Be a prophet to the wind, be a prophet, son of man, and say to the wind, The Lord has said: Come from the four winds, O wind, breathing on these dead so that they may come to life.
And the he-goat became very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and in its place came up four other horns turned to the four winds of heaven.
Ho, ho! go in flight from the land of the north, says the Lord: for I have sent you far and wide to the four winds of heaven, says the Lord.
And he will send out his angels with a great sound of a horn, and they will get his saints together from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
And a great storm of wind came up, and the waves came into the boat, so that the boat was now becoming full.
But while they were sailing he went to sleep: and a storm of wind came down on the sea, and the boat became full of water and they were in danger.
And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, There will be heat; and so it is.
But after a little time, a very violent wind, named Euraquilo, came down from it with great force.