NORTH (צָפﯴנ֒, H7600; prob. from צָפַן, H7621, “to hide,” hence “that which is hidden or dark”; or perhaps from the Phoen. צפן, north; or from צָפָה֒, H7595, to look out, hence a place for looking out; מְזָרִ֥ים, to sow or scatter, referring to the N wind as “the scatterers”; βορρᾶς, G1080, the north).

צָפﯴנ֒, H7600, is first a reference to one of the four cardinal points of the compass and is often so used in the OT. (See particularly Joshua, and Ezekiel 40-48.) The prophets also use this term to refer generally to identifiable countries lying NE, or even due E of Pal. Usually these are references to foes from the N who, because of the sea on the W and the Arabian desert on the E, were forced to enter Pal. from the N. Because of this, even Babylon, lying due E of Pal., was spoken of as being N (Jer 1:14, 15; 6:1, 22; et al.). The many references in Daniel 11 to “the king of the north” prob. are references to the Seleucid kings of Syria as opposed to “the king of the south,” references to the Ptolemies of Egypt. “The north” in Ezekiel 38:6, 15; 39:2 is a reference to a future invader of Pal. who cannot be identified with certainty.

For a discussion of מְזָרִ֥ים in Job 37:9 and a suggested change in pointing, see the article on Astronomy in PEB. Βορρᾶς appears twice in the NT and in both instances means “north” as the cardinal compass point (Luke 13:29; Rev 21:13).