Lexical Summary
meeh: Belly, inward parts, bowels, womb
Original Word:מֵעֶה
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:me`ah
Pronunciation:meh-eh
Phonetic Spelling:(may-aw')
KJV: belly, bowels, X heart, womb
NASB:body, bowels, heart, stomach, soul, spirit, abdomen
Word Origin:[from an unused root probably meaning to be soft]
1. used only in plural the intestines, or (collectively) the abdomen, figuratively, sympathy
2. (by implication) a vest
3. (by extension) the stomach, the uterus (or of men, the seat of generation), the heart (figuratively)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
belly, bowels, heart, womb
From an unused root probably meaning to be soft; used only in plural the intestines, or (collectively) the abdomen, figuratively, sympathy; by implication, a vest; by extens. The stomach, the uterus (or of men, the seat of generation), the heart (figuratively) -- belly, bowels, X heart, womb.
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originof uncertain derivation
Definitioninternal organs, inward parts, belly
NASB Translationabdomen (1), body (4), bowels (4), children* (1), feelings (1), heart (4), inward parts (1), offspring* (1), own (1), soul (2), spirit (2), stomach (4), stomachs (1), within (1), womb (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
[]
Isaiah 16:11 only
(Late Hebrewid.; Aramaic , ,
,
; Arabic
; Ethiopic
; — on form compare LagBN 156 BaZMG xiii. 1888, 345); — plural [] constructPsalm 71:6 3t.; suffix2 Samuel 16:11 9t.,Psalm 22:15;Psalm 40:9;Genesis 15:4 6t.;Genesis 25:23;Numbers 5:22;2 Samuel 20:10 5t.;Ezekiel 7:19; —
literally:
2 Samuel 20:10and he poured out his inward parts on the ground (through a wound); compare 2Chronicles 21:15,18,2 Chronicles 21:15;2 Chronicles 21:19.
=stomach,belly,Job 20:14;Ezekiel 3:3 ("" ),Ezekiel 7:19 ("" ; both with ),Numbers 5:22; so of fish that swallowed JonahJonah 2:1;Jonah 2:2.
(said of offspring)Genesis 15:4 (JE),2 Samuel 7:12 ("" ),2 Samuel 16:11;Isaiah 48:19 (""id.); 2Chronicles 32:21.
=womb,Genesis 25:23 (J; "" ), compareIsaiah 49:1 (""id.),Psalm 71:6 (""id.),Ruth 1:11.
in General =inwards, inward part,Psalm 22:15, comparePsalm 40:9.
= seat of emotions: pity,Isaiah 16:11 ("" ); of God's compassion,Jeremiah 31:20 ("" ; in both subject of verb );Isaiah 63:15 ("" ); distress,Jeremiah 4:19 (twice in verse) ("" ,Lamentations 1:20 ("" ),Lamentations 2:11 (""liver);Job 30:27 (dubious, see Bu); love,Songs 5:4.
,Songs 5:14.
Topical Lexicon
Overview of the TermStrong’s Hebrew 4578 speaks of the bodily cavity that houses the viscera, yet Scripture repeatedly employs the word for the seat of deep emotion, covenantal lineage, and spiritual discernment. Approximately thirty-two Old Testament occurrences span narrative, poetry, wisdom, and prophecy, enabling a rich theology of the “inward parts.”
Literal Usage in Old Testament Narrative
1. Lineage and Covenant Promises. The term is pivotal to Abrahamic and Davidic promises: “one who comes from your own body will be your heir” (Genesis 15:4), and “I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body” (2 Samuel 7:12). The physical “belly” guarantees physical posterity through which redemptive history advances.
2. Maternal Womb.Genesis 25:23;Ruth 1:11;1 Kings 3:26;Job 3:11 all depict the mother’s belly as the hidden arena where God fashions life. Thus the unborn belong to His sovereign purposes long before birth.
3. Familial Continuity.Micah 6:7 and2 Chronicles 6:9 view children as the “fruit of the body,” reinforcing Israel’s multi-generational covenant consciousness.
Figurative Usage: Seat of Emotions and Intellect
1. Agonized Sorrow. “My bowels are in torment” (Lamentations 2:11), “My anguish, my anguish!” (Jeremiah 4:19), and “my inward parts trembled” (Habakkuk 3:16) portray visceral distress under divine judgment.
2. Deep Affection and Longing.Song of Solomon 5:4 records a lover whose “heart pounded,” revealing that love engages the most visceral core.Isaiah 16:11 parallels this with compassion for Moab: “My heart laments like a harp.”
3. Moral Discernment.Proverbs 18:8 andProverbs 20:27 locate both corrupt words and the probing Spirit of the LORD in the “inmost parts,” asserting that moral choices register in the depths no human eye sees.
4. Joyful Obedience.Psalm 40:8 affirms, “Your law is within my heart,” demonstrating that true piety resides in the same inner realm that experiences grief and affection.
Theological Significance: God Knows the Inward Parts
Me’eh language underscores that God’s concern transcends external ritual. He searches and shapes what lies beneath. The promise of the New Covenant—Torah written on the heart (Jeremiah 31:33)—is anticipated whenever the Old Testament locates law, joy, or sorrow in the bowels. Consequently, worship devoid of inner integrity is unacceptable (cf.Isaiah 1:11–17).
Messianic and Prophetic Dimensions
1. Royal Lineage. The promise that Messiah would arise from David’s “body” certifies the historical lineage of Jesus of Nazareth, anchoring Gospel claims in concrete Old Testament wording.
2. Prophetic Compassion. Jeremiah’s and Habakkuk’s trembling insides model the prophet who feels God’s burden before he speaks it. Authentic ministry today likewise demands inward identification with God’s grief over sin.
Implications for Worship and Spiritual Formation
1. Integrity. Believers must allow the Spirit to “search … the inmost being” (Proverbs 20:27), surrendering hidden motives to divine scrutiny.
2. Compassion. Isaiah’s “bowels” that vibrate like harp strings caution against detached orthodoxy; truth and tenderness must coexist.
3. Hope. Even when bowels writhe under chastening, covenant promises birthed “from your own body” guarantee that judgment will not cancel redemption.
Related New Testament Themes
The Pauline “inner man” (Ephesians 3:16) and the Johannine “rivers of living water” flowing from the believer’s koilia (John 7:38) mirror the Old Testament me’eh. Both Testaments agree: the gospel penetrates to, and flows out from, the deepest recesses of human existence.
Conclusion
Strong’s 4578 reveals that Scripture views the human person holistically—body, emotion, intellect, and spirit intertwined in the “inward parts.” From the cradle of covenant offspring to the anguish of prophetic intercession, me’eh vocabulary calls God’s people to integrity, compassion, and hope rooted in His all-searching, all-saving presence.
Forms and Transliterations
בְּֽמֵעַ֔י בְּֽמֵעַ֔יִךְ בְּמֵעָ֛יו בְּמֵעָ֣יו בִּמְעֵ֣י במעי במעיו במעיך וּמֵעֵיהֶ֖ם וּמֵעֶ֣יךָ וּמֵעַ֖י ומעי ומעיהם ומעיך מִמְּעֵ֖י מִמְּעֵ֣י מִמְּעֵ֥י מִמֵּעֶ֑יךָ מִמֵּעֶ֔יךָ מִמֵּעַ֖י מִמֵּעַ֖יִךְ מֵעֶ֑יךָ מֵעֶ֖יךָ מֵעֶ֙יךָ֙ מֵעֶ֛יךָ מֵעַ֔י מֵעַ֖י מֵעַ֣י מֵעַ֣י ׀ מֵעַ֨י ׀ מֵעַי֙ מֵעָ֔יו מֵעָ֥יו מֵעָֽי׃ מֵעָיו֙ ממעי ממעיך מעי מעי׃ מעיו מעיך bə·mê·‘a·yiḵ bə·mê·‘āw bə·mê·‘ay bəmê‘āw bəmê‘ay bəmê‘ayiḵ bemeAi bemeAv bemeAyich bim‘ê bim·‘ê bimEi mê‘āw mê‘ay mê‘āy mê‘eḵā mê·‘āw mê·‘ay mê·‘āy mê·‘e·ḵā meAi meAv meEicha mim·mê·‘a·yiḵ mim·mê·‘ay mim·mə·‘ê mim·mê·‘e·ḵā mimeAi mimeAyich mimeEi mimeEicha mimmê‘ay mimmê‘ayiḵ mimmə‘ê mimmê‘eḵā ū·mê·‘ay ū·mê·‘ê·hem ū·mê·‘e·ḵā ūmê‘ay ūmê‘êhem ūmê‘eḵā umeAi umeEicha umeeiHem
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