Northward

Northward as a directional designation appears frequently in the geographical descriptions of the land and tabernacle in the Old Testament. Moses viewed the Promised Land from four directions — northward, southward, eastward, and westward — from Mount Pisgah (Deuteronomy 3:27). The tabernacle was oriented so that the altar of burnt offering and various furnishings had specific northward arrangements (Leviticus 1:11), as animals for burnt offerings were to be slain on the north side of the altar before the LORD. In prophetic literature, north carries consistent associations with the direction of threat and divine judgment descending upon Israel — Ezekiel's vision of the divine chariot came from the north (Ezekiel 1:4).