The scriptures, much like the ancient literature of the Middle
East, make figurative use of several internal organs as symbols
of wisdom, emotions, and vigor (
1,
38). The ancients did not
have a detailed psychologic vocabulary to make the fine linguistic
distinctions introduced in modern speech. The figurative use
of organs, with their multilayered metaphoric implications,
circumvented these limitations. It was their means to bring
the imagery of our recently acquired psychologic terms into
a series of manageable and easily visualized linguistic expressions
to discern the meaning of human experiences. As a book used
to teach the law and ethics to illiterate farmers and shepherds,
this was a powerful tool, much like that of the imagery of the
stained windows of cathedrals in the Late Middle Ages. The most
commonly used organ for these purposes was the heart, as a symbol
of intellect and wisdom, and blood, as a symbol of the life
principle (
18). Unlike most ancient literature, however, the
kidneys receive special attention in the Bible as the seat of
conscience, emotions, desire, and wisdom. The broader region
of the loins, which according to the Oxford English Dictionary
is implied in the now archaic term "reins," is considered the
site of physical strength and prowess (Job 40:7; 2 Sam. 20:8).
However, unlike the kidneys, reference to the heart as an anatomic
organ is extremely rare in the Bible (1 Sam. 25:37). Conversely,
the liver, which is cited repeatedly as an anatomic organ alongside
the kidneys in animal sacrificial offerings, is used only once
figuratively in the Bible as the site of intense grief (Lam.
2:11).
