Winds and directions are frequently written together in the Bible. Wind(s) are a tool that the Lord uses for His purposes. There is a metaphorical side of winds, but the physical aspect of air movement should not be downplayed, this includes the geographical location of the speaker.

The Science

Air moving can be pretty or a problem, but why can it move? Hot and cold, convections, high and low pressures, and the Coriolis Effect are drivers that put air into motion. Forgive me for breezing through this but all of those boil down to Sonshine and spin. The sun heats land and water and the air rises, if something goes up something comes down. The spinning of the earth causes rotary motion in the slower-moving air. (If a term is highlighted, please click on that, it is another post that may add to the topic.)

Location, location, location is important. Many of the references to wind are in Israel, so the Mediterranean Sea, deserts, mountain ranges, and the Sea of Galilee all influence the weather. Now to be a little geo-specific, Daniel, Ezekiel, and Job are not in Israel, Moses is in Egypt, and Noah and Jonah are near Turkey, Paul and much of Acts deal with the Mediterranean. Yes, all of those are in the same region, which is the area of the prevailing westerlies or 30 to 60 degrees north latitude. Into all of that throw in seasonal weather and winds becomes more of a complex issue. Remember if you are south of the Equator storms and wind directions may not be the same as in Israel. PS winds are usually named for where they are coming from not where they are going to.

Father God vs Mother Nature and the other guy  

How many times have you acknowledged someone for the weather? Mother Nature frequently gets the credit for nice weather and some rainy weather. Let it be a destructive storm and God usually gets the blame, even from nonbelievers. Ephesians 2:2 has an interesting phrase that Paul says about the air. There is a spirit that is the prince and power of the air, or Satan. Please notice how Satan never is credited with bad weather; think steal, kill, and destroy. Much of our weather is because of physical factors but there are times.

I try to think of Father God and not Mother Nature, just to give the credit where it is due.

There are six more topics to cover and I will try not to be blustery about them. So, study and use a concordance and Bible search tool, as I will not try to mention all of the references. I encourage you to use a parallel function in your tools as there can be small differences.

Four Winds or the Four Corners of Heaven

So, is this a metaphor, actual winds, or both? I will give examples of each and let you decide. Oh, get out your Bibles as I am giving only the reference.

Both 

• Jeremiah 49:36 has Elam being pushed by the four winds and its people being sent everywhere.
• Revelations 7:1 is a terrifying picture where angels are stopping the winds blowing all around the world. The hot air would rise and create a heat dome, which should play into 8:5 and provide the violent weather.

Real Winds

• Ezekiel 37:9 is the verse where Ezekiel is told to prophesy to the four winds to give breath to the slain bodies.
• Daniel 7:2 is a “night vision” where he sees the great sea being churned by winds from four directions.

Four Directions or All the Earth

• Daniel 8:8 and 11:4
• Zechariah 2:6 and 6:5
• Matthew 24:31 and Mark 13:27 tell of when Jesus’ Church will be called by a loud trumpet call from all the earth.

West Wind

A very strong west wind in Exodus 10:19 pushes the locust from Egypt into the Red Sea. The NASB has the words west and wind in the same verse, but most translations say flood or a rushing stream, and the wind could be from the east. These are the only two verses I found.

North Wind

• Ezekiel 1:4 is God’s introduction to the prophet. A strong wind from the north is pushing a huge lightning storm with something glowing on the inside; the Father knows how to make an entrance. Remember a sky full of angels singing to some shepherds.
• The “hurricane” that pushed Paul to start a church in Malta, Acts 27:14, is called a Northeaster in some translations.
• A north wind is frequently paired with a south wind as in Job 37:9. Solomon does this in several places in the Bible – Song of Songs 4:16 and Ecclesiastes 1:6.

South Wind

• A south wind in Israel is coming from the desert, so it will be warm or hot.
• Job uses many weather references, see 37:9 and 17 for south winds.
• Luke, who adds great details, does it again in both his Gospel and Acts. Luke 12:55 has Jesus linking a south wind with it being hot. Acts 27:13 and 28:13 are on board the ships that take them to Rome. In Luke 11:31 he joins Matthew in talking about the Queen of the South. The word is notos or south wind.  

The next wind is the most named and is associated with judgment and correction. Use a Bible search tool as I will give a few examples. I have used Bible Gateway.

East Wind

• Hosea 13:15 Though he may flourish among his brothers, the east wind, the wind of the Lord, shall come, rising from the wilderness, and his fountain shall dry up; his spring shall be parched; it shall strip his treasury of every precious thing. (ESV) I feel this verse says a lot.
• Genesis 41:6 Pharaoh’s dream about the coming drought.
• Exodus 10:13 the wind that brought the locusts on Egypt.
• Jonah 4:8 is the wind that dried Jonah’s vine.
• Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Job, and Psalms are other books that have the east wind doing the Lord’s work.

Yes, in word searches there will be overlap.

Wind or Winds

• 1 Kings 19:11 a strong wind is tearing apart a mountain where Elijah is.
• Psalm 104:4 and Hebrews 1:7 link angels and winds as ministers of God.
• Ezekiel 5 repeats the idea of being cast to the winds.

The New Testament has more generic winds than named ones.

• Matthew 7:25 the parable of the house that will stand.
• Matthew 8, Mark 4, and Luke 8 have Jesus calming the winds while He was in a boat.
• Jude 1 and James 3 use winds as metaphors.

May the wind always be at your back as you sail on in your studies of wind, breath, storms, and weather in the Bible.