The Terms "Up" and "Down" As Used In The Bible

[Jerry]

I have read some comments by commentators over the years that when the Bible uses the term "up" or "down" as a direction (like, going up to Jerusalem, down to the wilderness, down to the coast, etc.) that it is referring to elevation. Has anyone ever studied this out? I was reading a commentary on the life of David a couple of days ago, and the author pointed out the word down in this verse:

1 Samuel 25:1 And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

Then he proceeded to teach on the "downward" course (using this term as his springboard) David took for a bit after the death of Samuel. It seemed a stretch, especially, when I looked at the previous verse:

1 Samuel 24:22 And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto the hold.

The overall context shows David and his men were hiding from Saul in the caves and mountains. Therefore it makes sense he was UP in the caves, and went DOWN to the wilderness. Also, Jerusalem is on a mountain, so going UP to Jerusalem from anywhere else makes sense. But is this a general Biblical usage - because God is the overall author of Scripture and would be consistent about how He uses the terms (I understand a person may speak about "going up or down" to somewhere as a general statement without necessarily reflecting a direction, but that might be different from the historical statements in the Bible (ie. when not recording a conversation), or just general references depending upon the author of that particular book?

Hope what I am asking makes sense. Because this is now on my mind, I am sure I am going to keep digging until I get an answer that fits more of the overall Bible picture. Thanks for any input you may have on this.

[Jim_Alaska]

I agree that in many instances those words apply to direction, rather than a course. It all depends on proper context, with proper being the operative word.

[Jerry]

I no longer have the search displayed, so I might be off on the number. I think my Bible program said the word "up" was used 2154 times in the Bible. First three books show a consistency (as far as I can tell). When people are on a plain or valley, they go up to a mountain. The Lord comes down to man, goes up to Heaven when He departs. One use consistently is "going up out of Egypt" or "down into Egypt." Is Egypt at a lower elevation than the Promised Land?

[Jim_Alaska]

I don't know if Egypt is higher in elevation, but geographically it is south, or below Israel.

[rancher824]

I once heard a man preach on Jonah. When he got to Jonah 1:3 KJV
“But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord , and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord” he went into how any time the Bible says “went down to” it was speaking of sin. His whole sermon was based on this statement. After church I made sure there wasn’t anyone around and I asked him if I had understood that anywhere the phrase “went down to” was used it was referring to sin. He confirmed that I had understood correctly. I then showed him John 2:12 KJV “After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days.” This verse is of course speaking of Jesus, so there could not be and sin involved. My point in mentioning this is that we need to be careful not to build a belief, or sermon on a single word or even phrase. We need to study the context and see if there is anything there. 
 

[Jerry]

There would be no problem if someone preached on the downward course of Jonah, based on what happened to him and what choices he made - but to use a misunderstood term out of context to make a sermon message or points in a sermon is certainly not good.