קדמ

'Qedem' appears to refer to an ancient civilization or the ruins thereof; a remnant of a previous iteration of culture or technology.

Genesis 13:14, Psalm 68:33

The qedim are the ancient people of that civilization.

This culture may have been centered somewhere east of the Levant, thus most traditional translations misinterpret “qedem” as “east”, but there are several instances that are more accurately translated “before”.

Supposedly, mezereh also is used to indicate “east”.

It is unclear if there might be any etymological linkage between qedem and qedes, since the presumed root 'qed' is unattested.

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LexID 6924-6935