Earth, Corners of the
Earth, Corners of the
The corners or ends of the earth are its wings (kanephoth ha-‘arec), i.e. its borders or extremities. The word in general means a wing, because the wing of a bird is used as a covering for its young, and from this meaning it acquires that of the extremity of anything stretched out. It is Thus used in Deu 22:12 : Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four borders (wings) of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself. It Thus also means the coasts or boundaries of the land surface of the earth; its extremities. It is translated corners in Isa 11:12; ends in Job 37:3 and Job 38:13. The four corners of the earth (Isa 11:12) or land (Eze 7:2) are therefore simply the extremities of the land in the four cardinal directions. See also ASTRONOMY, III, 3.