qe.dem denotes an eastern direction or region and, in other contexts, an earlier time or what lies before.

The word most often marks an eastern direction, location, region, or people identified with that region; it also locates events, plans, and remembered conditions in earlier time, and in a few clauses denotes what is before or forward.

1. Eastern direction, territory, or eastern peoples · dominant

   The singular absolute noun locates places and movement by an eastern orientation: in Genesis 12:8 the APB renders Bethel as west and Ai as east, while Ezekiel 11:23 places the mountain east of the city. It can also identify a region or its people, as Genesis 29:1 describes Jacob going to the land of the sons of the East and Judges 6:33 names the sons of the East among the gathered forces.

   Genesis 12:8Genesis 29:1Ezekiel 11:23Genesis 25:6Judges 6:33Numbers 34:11
2. Earlier time or remote past · common

   The noun marks a time prior to the situation being described. In 2 Kings 19:25 the APB renders the clause as a determination made "long ago," and in Jeremiah 30:20 it describes children being "as of old"; Proverbs 8:23 has the plural construct form in a sequence rendered "From eternity" and "from the beginning."

   2 Kings 19:25Jeremiah 30:20Isaiah 46:10Lamentations 2:17Proverbs 8:22Proverbs 8:23
3. What is before or forward · rare

   In clauses contrasting positions, the noun can indicate what lies ahead. Job 23:8 contrasts going forward with going backward, and Psalm 139:5 pairs behind and before; Deuteronomy 33:27 describes the enemy being driven out before the addressee.

   Job 23:8Psalm 139:5Deuteronomy 33:27

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the term with directional language such as "east," "eastward," and "before," and with temporal expressions such as "long ago," "of old," and "from the beginning." These expressions confirm the clauses' settings rather than supplying a fixed English equivalent in every occurrence.