A long time ago, someone told me that ancient Jewish maps had East at the top instead of North. I can't even remember who it was that said that, but that idea has stuck with me. Is there any historical basis for that claim? Did they even have maps in ancient Israel?
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1We have just read it in Bereishit 13:14: "and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward." Eastward is written in Hebrew as קֵדְמָה, to the front. Also the Mediterranean Sea was called in Devarim 11:24 the "hinder sea."– Kazi bácsiCommented Nov 1, 2020 at 16:07
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Most of the maps you are thinking of were European. That model wouldn't work for the Torah. If what the Torah called North is really East then what the Torah called South is really West, which means the 'South' of Canaan is the sea. Traveling 'South' to Egypt would mean going into the sea, which doesn't make sense.– user6591Commented Nov 1, 2020 at 16:53
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What comes to mind is that when we shake the lulav, we do face east, meaning, the first direction of the lulav being lifted and shaken, is toward the east.– ninamagCommented Nov 1, 2020 at 17:02
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1I don't see why this is on-topic on this site, which is about Judaism, not what Jews do (except as it relates to Judaism).– msh210 ♦Commented Nov 1, 2020 at 17:51
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1As an example, When Avraham offerred Lot half of the land, he said right or left meaning south or north. Lot chose the direction that he was facing which meant east. East is called קֵדְמָה forward.– sabbahillelCommented Nov 1, 2020 at 19:54
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1 Answer
There are several reasons why this is likely. One example is in יחזקאל פרק ד׳ where the prophet is told to lie on his left side for the sins of the Northern Kingdom and to lie on his right side for the sins of the Southern Kingdom which would indicate that Jewish maps at the time had east pointing up, as in a map with east pointing up north is to the left, and south is to the right. Another example is in חיזקוני's commentary on בראשית פרק א׳ פסוק א׳, he notes that the letter בית is open to the north which would indicate that also during his time, Jewish maps were drawn with east pointing up.
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Either that, or because the Northern Kingdom of Israel occupied a secondary position with regards to that of Judah to the South (containing Jerusalem and its Temple), similar to how for most people (which are are right-handed), the right hand obviously holds a position of primacy over their left.– user18041Commented Nov 2, 2020 at 9:39