Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:
But I wish in vain. For "behold," etc. Forward ... backward - rather, 'to the east, to the west.' The Hebrew geographers faced the east - i:e., sunrise: not the north, as we do. So 'before' means east: 'behind,' west (so the Hindus). 'Para,' before-east: 'Apara,' behind-west: 'Daschina,' the right hand-south: 'Bama,' left-north. A similar reference to sunrise appears in the name Asia, sunrise: Europe, sunset: pure Babylonian names, as Rawlinson shows.