Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
EAST, EAST COUN'TRY. Gen 11:2; Job 1:3; Eze 47:8; Matt 2:1. The Hebrews used the word kedem, or "east," to describe any country which was before or in front of another — that is, to the east of it; and it generally refers to the region around and beyond the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, including portions of Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Babylonia.