Listening to ones internal organs in the Hebrew Scriptures

Body Parts In Scripture
The internal organs

The Abdomen – meim

• the belly or “bowels”
  – includes intestines and internal reproductive organs (Ge. 15:4)
• specifically, female reproductive organs – rechem, the womb (Jer. 20:17)
• male and female reproductive organs — beten — also “belly” or  appetite
• the innermost parts of the body are hadre beten
  –  the bed chamber and inner rooms of the temple — hadre/heder (2 Ki. 6:12 and 1 Chr. 28:11)
  – Yahweh searches these inner places of the person (Pr. 20:27)
• all of the “inner parts” located in the body cavity — qereb (Pr. 14:33)
• the liver – kebed
  – from kbd, “heavy,” “weight” – probably for its size
  Lam. 2:11, “My heart (kebed) is poured out on the earth”

“This is a way of describing measureless grief; in his sorrow the poet is no longer in control of his innermost feelings; his very life is poured out with his liver.” Hans W. Wolf, Anthropology of the Old Testament

• the gall bladder – merrera (Job 16:13)
  – bile – merora, from mrr, “to be bitter” Job 28:14
• the kidneys – kaylayot
  – the second most important organ–after the heart
  – like the heart, a place where emotions are deeply felt (Ps. 73:21), but also a deep place from which praise flows (Pr. 23:16)
  – a person’s conscience (Ps. 16:7)
  – the inner truth about a person (Jer. 12:2)

“They talk about God, but he is not allowed to have any influence on their private decisions.” Hans W. Wolf

• the heart – leb (appears 598 times) lebab (appears 252 times)
  – of all the parts of the body, this is the most frequently used term and in almost ever reference it is used of humans
  (contrasted with the liver, which refers to humans only once)
  – they did not think of the physical organ as a pump (for example: 1 Sa. 25:36-38 – Nabal’s heart died “and he became as a stone” — then, about ten days later he died)
  – the heart was the organ that enabled movement, speech, and thought (Ps. 38:10)
  – a central component of the human person, but unlike the external body, it is hidden from others
  – only God knows the heart (1 Ki. 8:39; Ps. 44:21; Pr. 15:1) — he searches the heart (1 Chr. 28:9)

• The heart’s functions are primarily mental and spiritual
  FEELINGS
  – the mood of the heart affects the whole life (Pr. 15:13; 17:22)
  – it can be agitated over the actions of others (Pr. 23:17)
  – it can be tranquil or upset (Pr. 14:30)
  – it can be courageous or fearful (De. 28:67; Is. 7:2; 2 Sa. 17:10)

when Jeremiah spoke of “the walls of” his heart” (Jer. 4:19), he refers to a time when alarm triggered a panic attack that caused him to feel constriction around his chest

– grief and despair are felt in the heart (Ge. 45:26, “numb”)
– to speak lovingly to someone is to talk “to the heart” (Hos. 2:14)
– desires and longings reside in the heart (Ps. 21:2)
– pride can swell the heart (Is. 9:9)

THE HEART IS THE SEAT OF REASON AND RATIONAL FUNCTIONS (De. 29:4)
– wisdom resides in the heart (Ps. 90:12; 1 Ki. 29:33)
– the heart focuses one’s attention (Hag. 1:5)
– “thoughts and intentions” of the heart (Heb. 4:12)
– “without heart” is lacking sense or judgment (Hos. 4:11; 7:11)

“In our language mind is exactly the right word at this point.” Hans W. Wolf

THE HEART IS  WHERE THOUGHTS ARE MEDITATED ON AND STORED (Lk. 2:19)
– a place where we keep our secrets

THE HEART IS THE SEAT OF THE HUMAN WILL  (Ps. 78:37)