So, in the end, all uses are figurative. The visions in which Isaiah and Habakkuk saw God’s hand are how he appeared to them in a dream state. Psalms and Lamentations are really poems. Any references to God’s right hand mean that someone is trying to get a point across in a way that can be clearly understood by the reader — which also means that it does not have an anthropomorphic meaning.
But what point are they trying to get across, and what message would they want to convey God’s right hand to be?
4.1.2. Meaning – power, honor, or what?
To answer this question, I went again through all 28 uses of the “right hand of God” again. I tried to come up with a Pshat meaning for each one of them, expecting to get some statistical analysis. First I looked for evidence to support Nahmanides’s theory of the right hand reflecting revenge. However, I did not find any verses that convey that meaning. Then I looked for evidence for OrHachaim’s interpretation of lovingkindness (chesed). However, I didn’t find any verses that helped his case either.
I found no use on right vs left, no overall meaning of everywhere, no meaning of north and south, and no meaning of goodness vs badness either (Keep in mind, this is only the right hand of God).
All uses were connected to Power or Honor: 22 of the uses I thought were connected to Power, while 6 connected to Honor (listed in Appendix).
The Power uses refer to God strengthening Israel, or god destroying Israel’s assailants, such as, for instance:
- Psalms 18:36 “You have given me the shield of your protection; Your right hand has held me up; Your kindness has made me great.”
- Psalms 21:9 “Your hand shall find out all Your enemies; Your right hand shall overpower Your foes.”
- Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you. Be not frightened, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.”
The minority of uses that don’t refer to strength always refer to a position or a feeling of honor, such as:
- Psalms 16:12 “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are delights forever.”
- Psalms 48:10 “According to your name, O Lord, so is your praise unto the ends of the earth. Your right hand is full of righteousness.”
In Beshalach, both uses of the “right hand of God” are connected in a straightforward manner to the use of power. Therefore, honor is ruled out, as are all the other meanings of right and left.
So the clear meaning of the Right hand of God in Exodus 15:6 and 15:12 is not an anthropomorphic reference, but a poetic figure of speech that represents the expression of the power of the Lord. It is very explicitly using the understanding that must be common at the time that the right hand is the powerful one, and probably the “rightful” one as well.
Born left-handed 