Topical Encyclopedia
The term "thigh" in the Bible is often used both literally and symbolically, appearing in various contexts throughout the Scriptures. In the ancient Near Eastern culture, the thigh was considered a symbol of strength and power, as well as a place of vulnerability. This duality is reflected in the biblical text.
1.
Literal Use: The thigh is mentioned in several passages in a literal sense, often in relation to physical descriptions or actions. For example, in
Genesis 32:25, during Jacob's wrestling with the angel, it is noted, "When the man saw that He could not overpower Jacob, He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip and dislocated it as they wrestled." Here, the dislocation of Jacob's thigh signifies a moment of divine intervention and transformation.
2.
Oaths and Covenants: The thigh is also associated with the making of oaths and covenants. In
Genesis 24:2-3, Abraham instructs his servant, "Please place your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am dwelling." This act of placing a hand under the thigh was a solemn gesture, signifying the seriousness and binding nature of the oath.
3.
Symbol of Reproduction and Legacy: The thigh is sometimes used as a euphemism for the reproductive organs, symbolizing progeny and legacy. In
Genesis 46:26, the phrase "all the persons belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt, his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob’s sons, were sixty-six persons in all" uses the Hebrew term "yarek," often translated as "thigh," to denote descendants.
4.
Judgment and Punishment: The thigh is occasionally mentioned in contexts of judgment or punishment. In
Numbers 5:21-22, the ritual of the bitter water for a suspected adulteress includes a curse that her "thigh will waste away and her abdomen will swell." This reflects the cultural understanding of the thigh as a place of vulnerability and the seat of one's strength being compromised as a form of divine judgment.
5.
Symbolic Imagery: In prophetic and apocalyptic literature, the thigh can be part of symbolic imagery.
Revelation 19:16 describes the victorious Christ, stating, "And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." This imagery emphasizes Christ's ultimate authority and power, with the thigh serving as a symbol of His rightful dominion.
Throughout the Bible, the thigh serves as a multifaceted symbol, representing strength, vulnerability, covenant, and legacy. Its use in various contexts underscores the depth and richness of biblical language and the cultural significance of the body in ancient times.
ATS Bible Dictionary
ThighThe mode of taking an oath, alluded to inGenesis 24:2-9 47:29-31, was significant of the swearer's obligation to obedience. Jacob's thigh was disabled by the Angel, to show the patriarch that his prevalence was through his faith and prayer, not through force,Genesis 32:25-31. Smiting the thigh was a gesture of self-condemnation and grief,Jeremiah 31:19Ezekiel 21:12. Warriors wore their swords upon the left thigh, unless left-handed in readiness for use, Jud 3:15-21Psalm 45:3 So 3:8; so too they may have borne their names and titles, not only on their shields, but on their swords, or on the rove or mailed coat covering the thigh,Revelation 19:16. "Hip and thigh," Jud 15:8, seems to mean utterly and irrecoverably.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) The proximal segment of the hind limb between the knee and the trunk. See Femur.
2. (n.) The coxa, or femur, of an insect.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
THIGHthi (yarekh; Aramaic yarekhah (Daniel 2:32); meros (Judith 9:2; Sirach 19:12;Revelation 19:16); as part of a sacrificial animal (Exodus 29:22, etc.) shoq, the King James Version, the Revised Version margin "shoulder"; in addition the King James Version has "thigh" for shoq inIsaiah 47:2 (the Revised Version (British and American) "leg")): The portion of the leg from the knee to the hip, against which a weapon hangs when suspended from the waist (Exodus 32:27Judges 3:16, 21Psalm 45:3, etc.). So the thigh of a rider on horseback would be covered by a loose girdle, on which his name might be embroidered (Revelation 19:16). The "hollow of the thigh" (Genesis 32:25) is the hip-socket or the groin.
See alsoHIP.
The thighs were thought to play a part in procreation (Genesis 46:26Exodus 1:5, English Versions of the Bible "loins"; Judges 8:30, English Versions of the Bible "body"; compare Numbers 5:21;), so that an oath taken with the hand under the thigh (Genesis 24:2, 9;Genesis 47:29) was taken by the life-power (the rabbis interpreted "by the seal of circumcision"). It is perhaps significant that this oath in bothGenesis 24 and 47 is said to have been exacted by persons in danger of death. Doubtless this association of the thigh with life (aided perhaps by its excellence as food (1 Samuel 9:24Ezekiel 24:4)) determined its choice as a sacrificial potion (Exodus 29:22, etc.; on the "heave thigh" see SACRIFICE). Consequently, it is natural to find the thigh classed as forbidden ("sacred") food among certain peoples, and, probably, this sacred character of the part is the real basis ofGenesis 32:32: "The children of Israel eat not the sinew of the hip which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day." The origin of the prohibition, however, was unknown to the writer of the verse, and he sought an explanation from a story in which special attention was called to the thigh. Nothing else is heard about this precept in the Old Testament, but it receives elaborate attention in the Mishna (Chullin vii), where, for instance, all food cooked with meat containing the sinew (nervus ischiadicus) is rendered unclean if the sinew imparts a flavor to it, but not otherwise. (For further details see the comms., especially Skinner. (ICC) and RS2, 380.) One of the proofs of guilt in the jealousy trial (Numbers 5:27) was the falling-away of the "thigh" (a euphemism; see JEALOUSY). To smite upon the thigh was a token of contrition (Jeremiah 31:19) or of terror (Ezra 21:12).
Burton Scott Easton
Greek
3382. meros -- thethigh... meros. 3383 . the
thigh. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: meros
Phonetic Spelling: (may-ros') Short Definition: the
thigh Definition: the
thigh...Strong's Hebrew
3409. yarek --thigh, loin, side, base... 3408, 3409. yarek. 3410 .
thigh, loin, side, base. Transliteration: yarek
Phonetic Spelling: (yaw-rake') Short Definition:
thigh.
...3410. yarkah --thigh, loin
... 3409, 3410. yarkah. 3411 .thigh, loin. Transliteration: yarkah Phonetic Spelling:
(yar-kaw') Short Definition: thighs. Word...thigh. (Aramaic...
5384. nasheh -- a vein (or nerve) in thethigh
... 5383, 5384. nasheh. 5385 . a vein (or nerve) in thethigh. Transliteration:
nasheh Phonetic Spelling: (naw-sheh') Short Definition: hip....
6344. pachad --thigh
... 6343, 6344. pachad. 6345 .thigh. Transliteration: pachad Phonetic Spelling:
(pakh'-ad) Short Definition: thighs. Word Origin probably...
7785. shoq -- a leg
... 7784, 7785. shoq. 7786 . a leg. Transliteration: shoq Phonetic Spelling:
(shoke) Short Definition:thigh.... hip, leg, shoulder,thigh....
3247. yesod -- foundation, base
... Word Origin from yasad Definition foundation, base NASB Word Usage base (9), foundation
(5), foundations (4),thigh (1). bottom, foundation, repairing....
Library
They all Hold Swords, Being Expert in War; Every Man Hath his...
... CHAPTER III. 8. They all hold swords, being expert in war; every man hath
his sword upon histhigh because of fear in the night....
King of Kings and Lord of Lords
... Revelation 19:16. And He hath on His vesture and on Histhigh a name written,.... It
is written, or inscribed, upon His vesture dipped in blood, and upon Histhigh....
He Shows by the Example of Abraham that the Ancient Saints...
... philosophers sought Him, who knew nothing of His flesh"can that other act of Abraham,
when he orders his servant to place his hand under histhigh, and to...
On the Words of the Gospel, John i. 48,"When Thou Wast under the...
... any more called Jacob, but Israel shall thy name be," [3653] which is by interpretation,
"Seeing God." After this He touched the sinew of histhigh, the broad...
Psalm XCIII.
... For he saith in another Psalm, [4347] "Gird Thee with Thy sword upon Thythigh,
O Thou most mighty: the people shall fall under Thee:" using the word accingere...
If, Therefore, Even they who are United in Marriage Only for the...
... Therefore it was a far greater good than the chaste marriages of believers among
us, which father Abraham knew in his ownthigh, under which he bade his...
Psalm LXXIII.
... sending his faithful servant to espouse a wife for his only son, maketh him swear
to him, and in the oath saith to him, "Put thy hand under mythigh, and swear...
How those are to be Admonished who Sin from Sudden Impulse and...
... Hence, again, of the strong warriors of the heavenly country it is said, Every man
hath his sword upon histhigh because of fears in the night (Cant....
Chapter xxiv
... 2-4. And Abraham said unto his servant, the eldest of his house, who had control
over all that Abraham had: Put, now, thy hand under mythigh, that I may cause...
Christ's Kingly Office
... Let us consider now Christ's regal office. And he has on his vesture, and on his
thigh, a name written, "King of kings, and Lord of lords", Revelation 19:16....
Thesaurus
Thigh (38 Occurrences)...THIGH.
... So the
thigh of a rider on horseback would be covered by a loose girdle,
on which his name might be embroidered (Revelation 19:16).
...Thigh-vein (1 Occurrence)
Thigh-vein. Thighs,Thigh-vein. Thimnathah . Multi-Version Concordance
Thigh-vein (1 Occurrence). Genesis 32:32 Therefore...
Heave-thigh (2 Occurrences)
Heave-thigh. Heave-shoulder, Heave-thigh. Heavier . Multi-Version
Concordance Heave-thigh (2 Occurrences). Leviticus...
Hip (8 Occurrences)
... 9. (n.) Alt. of Hipps. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. HIP. (shoq, "leg," "limb,"
"hip," "shoulder"): Samson smote the Philistines "hip andthigh" (Hebrew "leg...
Waved (29 Occurrences)
... Exodus 29:27 You shall sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and thethigh of
the wave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of...
Hollow (35 Occurrences)
... hol'-o (kaph, nabhabh): "Hollow" is the translation of kaph, "hollow" (Genesis
32:25, 32, "the hollow of histhigh," the hip-pan or socket, over the sciatic...
Joint (12 Occurrences)
... Genesis 32:25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the
hollow of histhigh; and the hollow of Jacob'sthigh was out of joint, as he...
Socket (5 Occurrences)
... Genesis 32:25 When he saw that he didn't prevail against him, he touched the hollow
of histhigh, and the hollow of Jacob'sthigh was strained, as he wrestled....
Sinew (2 Occurrences)
... "Therefore the children of Israel eat not the sinew of the hip which is upon the
hollow of thethigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's...
Swell (9 Occurrences)
... of the Water of Jealousy described in Numbers 5:11-31 (P), the effect on the unfaithful
wife ot the drinking of the holy water was to cause thethigh to fall...
Resources
Why did oaths involve putting a hand under someone's thigh (Genesis 24:9)? | GotQuestions.orgDid Jesus have a tattoo (Revelation 19:16)? | GotQuestions.orgWho were Hophni and Phinehas? | GotQuestions.orgThigh: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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