Corner: The angle of a house (Job 1:19) or a street (Prov. 7:8).
"Corners" in Neh. 9:22 denotes the various districts of the
promised land allotted to the Israelites. In Num. 24:17, the
"corners of Moab" denotes the whole land of Moab. The "corner of
a field" (Lev. 19:9; 23:22) is its extreme part, which was not
to be reaped. The Jews were prohibited from cutting the
"corners," i.e., the extremities, of the hair and whiskers
running round the ears (Lev. 19:27; 21:5). The "four corners of
the earth" in Isa. 11:12 and Ezek. 7:2 denotes the whole land.
The "corners of the streets" mentioned in Matt. 6:5 means the
angles where streets meet so as to form a square or place of
public resort.
The corner gate of Jerusalem (2 Kings 14:13; 2 Chr. 26:9) was
on the north-west side of the city.
Corner-stone (Job 38:6; Isa. 28:16), a block of great
importance in binding together the sides of a building. The
"head of the corner" (Ps. 118:22, 23) denotes the coping, the
"coign of vantage", i.e., the topstone of a building. But the
word "corner stone" is sometimes used to denote some person of
rank and importance (Isa. 28:16). It is applied to our Lord, who
was set in highest honour (Matt. 21:42). He is also styled "the
chief corner stone" (Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:6-8). When Zechariah
(10:4), speaking of Judah, says, "Out of him came forth the
corner," he is probably to be understood as ultimately referring
to the Messiah as the "corner stone." (See TEMPLE, SOLOMON'S
T0003612.)