In the Bible, the left hand is usually associated with evil. This may be because it’s not as strong as the right hand and therefore less likely to be used for good purposes. It may also be because, in ancient times, people were right-handed and so they were trained to use their right hands even more than their left.
This is why many people are surprised to learn that God used his left hand when he wrote the Ten Commandments on stone tablets (Exodus 31:18). He also used his left hand to write on a wall in Belshazzar’s palace (Daniel 5:5). These examples show us that God is capable of using both hands for good purposes.
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Left Hand In The Bible
First Chronicles 12:2 seems to reference bowmen who were ambidextrous. When the Bible refers to left-handed people, it speaks of left-handedness as an advantage, not a weakness. While it is not as honorable as sitting at someone’s right hand, sitting at the left hand is still a position of honor.
In the Bible, the left hand is often used as a symbol of sin and evil. Here’s a look at some of the most notable examples from scripture:
In Isaiah 9:6, God condemns those who have “rejected the word of the Lord” with his left hand.
In Psalm 119:21, David says that he longs for God’s word like a shepherd longs for grass—and then says that God has planted law in his heart and written it on his left hand.
In Luke 11:24-26, Jesus casts out demons by saying “Get behind me, Satan!”—which means that Satan is associated with the left side.
The book of Revelation also talks about how evil will be cast out into outer darkness on its left hand (Revelation 22:13).
In the Bible, the left hand is used as a symbol of evil or uncleanliness. In some cases, it’s also used in a metaphorical sense to represent one’s “unclean” side.
The left hand is often associated with darkness and the Devil, and can be seen as an omen of bad luck or misfortune. In the Book of Isaiah, God commands that his followers should not pray with their right hand—which was considered clean—but rather with their left, because “the right hand [is] full of blood” (Isaiah 1:15).
In addition to being seen as unclean, the left hand has also been associated with evil in several Biblical stories. For example, when Jesus’ disciples were fishing in the Sea of Galilee, they caught many fish but found that their nets were breaking because of their great size and weight (Luke 5:5-6). When Jesus saw this he said: “Cast the net on the right side of the ship and ye shall find” (Luke 5:4). The disciples did as he commanded and found many fish there.
As a left-handed person, I’ve always felt a little like an outsider.
I remember being told at a young age that left-handedness was “unlucky” and that I should try to use my right hand for everything. My teachers would always get mad at me for the way I’d write my letters—the letters were all backwards and uneven, and sometimes they’d be completely illegible. It wasn’t until high school that I learned about the history of left-handedness and how it’s been associated with witchcraft and evil since ancient times—and why so many people are still convinced that lefties are “worse” than righties.
Left Handed Blessing Meaning
The Bible presents the right hand as the hand of strength (Exodus 15:6; Psalm 118:16). Sitting at someone’s right hand is considered a position of honor (Psalm 110:1). The right hand is consistently valued over the left hand in Scripture (Genesis 48:13-18; Galatians 2:9). What does this mean about left-handedness? Is being left-handed considered a curse or a weakness? No. The Bible’s emphasis on “the right hand” is simply a reflection of reality. The dominant arm is almost always stronger than the other arm, and 85-90 percent of people are right-handed. So, in the vast majority of people, the right hand is stronger. Thus, the Bible uses the right hand as a symbol of strength and honor.
This does not carry any negative connotations for left-handed people. It is simply a matter of symbolism. Whenever the Bible mentions left-handed people, it does not present left-handedness as a weakness. Ehud, a judge of Israel and a mighty warrior, was left-handed (Judges 3:15-21). Judges 20:16 mentions 700 left-handed warriors who could “sling a stone at a hair and not miss.” First Chronicles 12:2 seems to reference bowmen who were ambidextrous. When the Bible refers to left-handed people, it speaks of left-handedness as an advantage, not a weakness.
While it is not as honorable as sitting at someone’s right hand, sitting at the left hand is still a position of honor (Matthew 20:21). Sitting immediately to a person’s left was considered the second-most honorable position. It was not as if everyone to the right was more honored than those to the left. The right hand is used in the Bible as a symbol of strength due to the right hand usually being stronger than the left. This should not be understood as a slight against left-handed people.