The term 'hand' (יד) is not actually there in the Hebrew text. This is not a
political statement (they wouldn't have had the right-left political spectrum
we refer to today). Instead, it is a reference to the generic ancient belief
that the right hand side was proper and 'right' (we even preserve this notion
in our English term), while the left was improper, weak, or sinister. This
notion of the 'sinister' is still preserved in some Latin-based languages
like Italian, in which 'left' is 'la sinistra'.
GEORGE ATHAS
Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
www.moore.edu.au