People of the East

The phrase “people of the east” refers to tribes that lived east and northeast of Canaan. Many of these groups were enemies of Israel. Genesis 29:1 gives the first biblical use of the phrase. As Jacob traveled to Haran, he entered “the land of the people of the east.”

The phrase could refer to different groups. It sometimes described nomadic peoples, who moved from place to place with their animals (Ezekiel 25:10). It could also refer to people from Mesopotamia, the region between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (1 Kings 4:30). The phrase is also connected with specific peoples, including the:

Amalekites(Judges 6:3),

Ammonites (Ezekiel 25:4),

Edomites (Isaiah 11:14),

Kedarites (Jeremiah 49:28),

Midianites (Judges 6:33), and

Moabites (Ezekiel 25:10).

The best-known person in the Old Testament connected with this phrase is Job. He is described as the greatest man among all the people of the east (Job 1:3). Job lived in the land of Uz, which was probably near Edom, southeast of the Dead Sea.