'Behind' in the Bible

He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him.

When they had brought them outside, one [of the angels] said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, or stop anywhere in the entire valley; escape to the mountains [of Moab], or you will be consumed and swept away.”

But Lot’s wife, from behind him, [foolishly, longingly] looked [back toward Sodom in an act of disobedience], and she became a pillar of salt.

Then Abraham looked up and glanced around, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering (ascending sacrifice) instead of his son.

then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s; they are a gift sent to my lord Esau. And he also is behind us.’”

and you shall say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he said [to himself], “I will try to appease him with the gift that is going ahead of me. Then afterward I will see him; perhaps he will accept and forgive me.”

Therefore, our livestock must also go with us; not one hoof shall be left behind, for we must take some of them to serve the Lord our God. Even we do not know with what we will serve the Lord until we arrive there.”

and all the firstborn in the land [the pride, hope, and joy] of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the hand-mill, and all the firstborn of cattle as well.

The angel of God, who had been going in front of the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them. The pillar of the cloud moved from in front and stood behind them.

But the land will be abandoned by them and will enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; and they will accept the punishment for their wickedness and make amends because they rejected My ordinances and their soul rejected My statutes.

The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west,

You shall do [the same] to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king; [except that] you shall take only its spoil and its cattle as plunder for yourselves. Set up an ambush for the city behind it [on the west side].”

He commanded them, saying, “Listen closely, you are going to lie in wait and ambush the city from behind it. Do not go very far away from the city, but all of you be ready.

So they stationed the people, all the army—the main encampment that was north of the city, and their rear guard on the west side of the city—and Joshua spent that night in the valley.

Now when the king [and the people] of Ai saw it, the men of the city hurried and got up early and went out to meet Israel in battle, the king and all his people at the appointed [time and] place before the desert plain (the Arabah). But he did not know that there was an ambush against him [waiting] behind the city [on the west side].

But when the [signal] cloud began to rise out of the city in a column of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them; and behold, the entire city went up in smoke to heaven.

Therefore, they turned their backs before the men of Israel [and fled] toward the direction of the wilderness, but the battle followed and overtook them. As the [fighting men of the] sons of Benjamin ran among them, the Israelites of the cities came out and destroyed them.

Then the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, do so. For there is no other here except for it.” And David said, “There is none like that; give it to me.”

Then David also got up afterward and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground and lay himself face down.

So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the brook Besor; there those [who could not continue] remained behind.

But David pursued [the Amalekites], he and four hundred men, for two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor stayed behind.

And the young man who told him explained, “By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and the chariots and horsemen [of the Philistines] were close behind him.

When he turned to look behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’

Then Abner looked behind him and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” He answered, “It is I.”

And the sons of [the tribe of] Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became one troop, and took their stand on the top of a hill.

But her husband went with her, weeping continually behind her as far as Bahurim. Then Abner told him, “Go, return.” And he did so.

When David inquired of the Lord, He said, “You shall not go up, but circle around behind them and come at them in front of the balsam trees.

Now when Joab saw that the battlefront was against him in front and in the rear, he selected some of all the choice men in Israel and set them in battle formation to meet the Arameans (Syrians).

Now Absalom fled. And the young man who kept watch looked up, and behold, many people were coming from the road behind him by the side of the mountain.

His house where he was to live, the other courtyard behind the hall, was of similar workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.

but have done more evil than all [the kings] who were before you; for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back—

Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man ahead of him [to behead Elisha]; but before the messenger arrived, Elisha told the elders, “Do you see how this son of [Jezebel] a murderer has sent [a man] to remove my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it securely against him. Is not the sound of his master’s feet [just] behind him?”

So the horseman went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king: ‘Do you come in peace?’” And Jehu said, “What have you to do with peace? Rein in behind me.” And the watchman reported, “The messenger approached them, but he has not returned.”

Then Joram sent out a second horseman, who approached them and said, “Thus says the king: ‘Do you come in peace?’” Jehu replied, “What have you to do with peace? Rein in behind me.”

(a third shall also be at the [city] gate Sur, and a third at the gate behind the guards); so you shall keep watch over the palace [from three posts] for defense.

This is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:‘The virgin daughter of ZionHas despised you and mocked you;The daughter of JerusalemHas shaken her head behind you!

Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him in the front and in the rear, he chose warriors from all the choice men of Israel and put them in formation against the Arameans (Syrians).

But Jeroboam had set an ambush to come from the rear, so that Israel was in front of Judah and the ambush was behind them.

When [the men of] Judah turned around, they were attacked from both front and rear; so they cried out to the Lord [for help], and the priests blew the trumpets.

So I stationed armed men behind the wall in the lowest places, at the open positions [where it was least protected]; and I stationed the people in families with their swords, spears, and bows.

From that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while the other half held the spears, shields, bows, and breastplates; and the captains were behind the whole house of Judah.

“Yet they were disobedient and rebelled against You,And cast Your law behind their backsAnd killed Your prophets who warned themTo return to You;And they committed great [and contemptible] blasphemies.

“Behind him he makes a shining wake;One would think the deep to be gray-haired [with foam].

“For you hate instruction and disciplineAnd cast My words behind you [discarding them].

“The kings of the [enemies’] armies flee, they flee,And the beautiful woman who remains at home divides the spoil [left behind].”

You have enclosed me behind and before,And [You have] placed Your hand upon me.

As when the one plows and breaks open the ground [and the soil scatters behind him],Our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol [by the injustices of the wicked].

“My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.Behold, he is standing behind our wall,He is looking through the windows,He is gazing through the lattice.

(The Bridegroom)“How fair and beautiful you are, my darling,How very beautiful!Your eyes behind your veil are like those of a dove;Your hair is like [the shimmering black fleece of] a flock of [Arabian] goatsThat have descended from Mount Gilead [beyond the Jordan].

“Your lips are like a ribbon of scarlet,And your mouth is lovely.Your temples are like a slice of the pomegranateBehind your veil.

“Your temples are like a slice of the pomegranateBehind your veil.

The Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west;And they devour Israel with gaping jaws.In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn awayBut His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

Come, my people, enter your chambersAnd shut your doors behind you;Hide for a little whileUntil the [Lord’s] wrath is past.

Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.

this is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:“She has shown contempt for you and mocked you,The Virgin Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem);She has shaken her head behind you,The Daughter of Jerusalem!

“Indeed, it was for my own well-being that I had such bitterness;But You have loved back my life from the pit of nothingness (destruction),For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.

“Behind the door and the doorpostYou have set up your [pagan] symbol;Indeed, far removed from Me, you have uncovered yourself,And have gone up and made your bed wide.And you have made a [new] agreement for yourself with the adulterers,You have loved their bed,You have looked [with passion] on their manhood.

Speak, “Thus says the Lord,‘The dead bodies of men will fall like dung on the open field,And like sheaves [of grain] behind the reaper,And no one will gather them.’”

Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rushing sound behind me, “Blessed be the glory of the Lord in His place [above the expanse].”

Therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, therefore bear now [the consequences of] your lewdness and prostitution.’”

‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and the delight of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind [in Jerusalem] will fall by the sword.

Blow the horn in Gibeah,The trumpet in Ramah [the lofty hills on Benjamin’s northern border].Sound the alarm at Beth-aven:“Behind you and coming after you [is the enemy], O Benjamin [be on guard]!”

Before them a fire devours,And behind them a flame burns;Before them the land is like the Garden of Eden,But behind them a desolate wilderness;And nothing at all escapes them.

Who knows whether He will relent [and revoke your sentence],And leave a blessing behind Him,Even a grain offering and a drink offering [from the bounty He provides you]For the Lord your God?

Thus says the Lord,“For three transgressions of Gaza [in Philistia] and for four (multiplied delinquencies)I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,Because [as slave traders] they took captive the entire [Jewish] population [of defenseless Judean border villages, of which none was spared]And deported them to Edom [for the slave trade].

“I descended to the [very] roots of the mountains.The earth with its bars closed behind me [bolting me in] forever,Yet You have brought up my life from the pit (death), O Lord my God.

In the night I saw [a vision] and behold, a Man was riding on a red horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees that were in the ravine; and behind Him were horses: red, sorrel (reddish-brown), and white.

Then a woman who had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the [tassel] fringe of His outer robe;

But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on things of God, but on things of man.”

She had heard [reports] about Jesus, and she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His outer robe.

But turning around [with His back to Peter] and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan; for your mind is not set on God’s will or His values and purposes, but on what pleases man.”

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother [to establish a home with his wife],

But pulling free of the linen sheet, he escaped [from them] naked.

and as they were returning [to Nazareth], after spending the required number of days [at the Feast], the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem. Now His parents did not know this,

Jesus replied to him, “It is written and forever remains written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.’”

and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began wetting His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and [respectfully] kissed His feet [as an act signifying both affection and submission] and anointed them with the perfume.

came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His outer robe, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things left behind] is fit for the kingdom of God.”

For that reason, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops.

Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to do without and be in need.

When they led Him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in [to the city] from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.

Having said these things to them, He stayed behind in Galilee.

So when it was evening on that same day, the first day of the week, though the disciples were [meeting] behind barred doors for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.”

Eight days later His disciples were again inside the house, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, though the doors had been barred, and stood among them and said, “Peace to you.”

So at that time the brothers immediately sent Paul away to go as far as the sea; but Silas and Timothy remained there [at Berea].

so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift [which comes from the Holy Spirit], as you eagerly wait [with confident trust] for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ [when He returns].

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

Therefore, when we could no longer endure our separation [from you], we thought it best to be left behind, alone at Athens,

For this reason I left you behind in Crete, so that you would set right what remains unfinished, and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,

By faith he left Egypt, being unafraid of the wrath of the king; for he endured [steadfastly], as seeing Him who is unseen.

I was in the Spirit [in special communication with the Holy Spirit and empowered to receive and record the revelation from Jesus Christ] on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet,

and in front of the throne there was something like a sea or large expanse of glass, like [the clearest] crystal. In the center and around the throne were four living creatures who were full of eyes in front and behind [seeing everything and knowing everything that is around them].