Bible Dictionary
QUARTER
Quarter means a fourth part or a region, side, or direction. Older Bible translations use it for the four ends or corners of a land or area.
Definition
Quarter literally means a fourth part. It may also refer to a region, side, direction, or any part of an area. Older English Bible translations use it for the ends or corners of a land, while modern translations often use side, border, coast, or corner.
Biblical Usage
The King James Version uses quarter for expressions concerning the four ends or corners of the earth and for various regions or sides. The Revised Version usually replaces it with more specific terms, though it retains or introduces the word in several passages.
Historical Background
The variation among translations reflects the broad use of the English word quarter and the different Hebrew and Greek terms it represents, including words meaning end, corner, side, and region.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>kwor'-ter: Literally, of course, "the fourth part," and so of the four "ends" (qatsah) in Jer 49:36, and the King James Version of the four "corners" (so the Revised Version (British and American), gonia) in Re 20:8. Hence, "any part" and in this sense used freely for various words by the King James Version. the Revised Version (British and American) has usually dropped "quarter," but unfortunately has retained it in Nu 34:3; Jos 15:5; 18:14,15, and introduced it in Jos 18:12,14,20 for pe'ah, usually rendered "side." The result is very obscure. Elsewhere in the Revised Version (British and American) only in the phrase "from every quarter" (Ge 19:4; Isa 56:11; Mr 1:45).</p><p>Compare BORDER; COAST.</p>