The reference to "the east wind" as an agent of destruction shows that the author of these texts was influenced by a mode of thinking that obtained in ancient Palestine. In that country the east wind then as now was harmful to vegetation. In the winter it is dry and cold, and in the summer it is dry and hot. It carries off the moisture on the leaves rapidly causing them to wither and die. On the Mediterranean this east wind is known as a levanter, and is regarded as dangerous to sailors. It was in such a storm that Paul was shipwrecked, and, with all the crew and passengers, stranded on the island of Malta. (See Mosiah 12:6)