Difference between revisions of "Thigh"

<div> '''1: μηρός ''' (Strong'S #3382 — Noun Masculine — meros — may-ros' ) </div> <p> occurs in &nbsp;Revelation 19:16; Christ appears there in the manifestation of His judicial capacity and action hereafter as the executor of [[Divine]] vengeance upon the foes of God; His name is spoken of figuratively as being upon His "thigh" (where the sword would be worn; cp. &nbsp;Psalm 45:3 ), emblematic of His strength to tread down His foes, His action being the exhibition of His Divine attributes of righteousness and power. </p>

<p> ( יָרֵךְ ''Yarek'' ; Sept. μηρός; Vulg. ''Femur'' )'','' properly the part of the body from the legs to the trunk, of men, quadrupeds, etc. (&nbsp;Genesis 32:25; &nbsp;Genesis 32:31-32; &nbsp;Judges 3:16; &nbsp;Judges 3:21; &nbsp;Psalms 45:3; &nbsp;Song of Solomon 3:8), occurs in several phrases of special significance in the Bible. </p> <p> '''1.''' ''Putting The Hand Under The ‘ Thigh'' appears to have been a very ancient custom, upon occasion of taking an oath to any one. Abraham required this of the oldest servant of his house, when he made him swear that he would not take a wife for Isaac of the daughters of the [[Canaanites]] (&nbsp;Genesis 24:2-9). Jacob required it of his son Joseph, when he bound him by oath not to bury him in Egypt, but with his fathers in the land of [[Canaan]] (&nbsp;Genesis 47:29-31). The origin, form, and import of this ceremony in taking an oath are very doubtful [[Aben-Ezra]] says, "It appears to me that it was the custom in that age for a servant to place his hand on his master's thigh, at the command of the latter, to show that he considered himself subject to, and undertook, his master's bidding; and such is at present the custom in India." [[Grotius]] thinks that, as the sword was worn upon the thigh (comp. &nbsp;Judges 3:16; &nbsp;Judges 3:21; &nbsp;Psalms 45:3; &nbsp;Song of Solomon 3:8), this custom was as much as to say, If I falsify, kill me. Not a few commentators, ancient and modern, explain it of laying the hand on or near the sectio circumcisionis, to protest by that solemn covenant of God, whereof circumcision was the badge and type, in the Abrahamic family. So R. [[Eleazar]] says, "Before the giving of the law, the ancient fathers swore by the covenant of circumcision" (Pirke, c. 49). The [[Targum]] of [[Jonathan]] ben- [[Uzziel]] explains it כגזירת מהולתי, "in sectione circumcisionis meae;" the [[Jerusalem]] Targum, תחות יר ִקימי, "sub femore foederis mei." Dr. Adam Clarke adopts the former of these two explanations (''Commentary On'' &nbsp;Genesis 24:9). This interpretation supposes ''Meiosis,'' or metonymy such as is supposed by some to attend the use of the word with regard to the effect of the water of [[Jealousy]] (&nbsp;Numbers 5:21-22; &nbsp;Numbers 5:27). Bochart adduces many similar instances (Hieroz. II, 5, 15). We may also refer to the margin or Heb. of &nbsp;Genesis 46:26; &nbsp;Exodus 1:5; &nbsp;Judges 8:30. No further allusion to this ceremony in taking an oath occurs in Scripture, unless the phrase "giving the hand under" ? refer to it. (See Heb. or margin of &nbsp;1 Chronicles 29:24, and "giving the hand," &nbsp;2 Chronicles 30:8; &nbsp;Jeremiah 1:15; &nbsp;Ezekiel 17:18.) (See [[Oath]]). </p> <p> '''2.''' Our translation states that "''The [[Hollow]] Of Jacob'S Thigh'' was out of joint by the touch of the angel who wrestled with him" (&nbsp;Genesis 32:25). Some, however, (prefer to render וְתָקִע, ''Was Sprained'' or ''Wrenched,'' and adduce &nbsp;Jeremiah 6:8; &nbsp;Ezekiel 23:17-18. The Sept. renders it καὶ ἐνάρκησε τὸ πλάτος τοῦ μηροῦ; the Vulg. ''Tetigit Nervum Femoris Ejus, Et Statim Emarcuit.'' Some such sense better suits &nbsp;Ezekiel 23:31, where we find Jacob ''Limping'' on his thigh; see [[Gesenius]] on צלע . The custom of Jacob's descendants, founded upon this incident, is recorded in &nbsp;Ezekiel 23:32, which has been thus translated: "Therefore the children of [[Israel]] eat not of the nerve Nashe, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day; because he struck the hollow of Jacob's thigh, on the nerve Nashe (Sept. τὸ νεῦρον,Vulg. ''Nervus'' )''.'' The true derivation of the word נשה is considered by Dr. Fü rst, in his ''Concordance,'' to be still a secret; but, along with Gesenius, he understands the nerve itself to be the ''Sciatic Nerve,'' which proceeds from the hip to the ankle. This nerve is still extracted from the hinder limbs [[By]] the [[Jews]] in England, and in other countries where properly qualified persons are appointed to remove it (''New Translation,'' etc., by the Rev. D. A. De Sola, p. 333). </p> <p> '''3.''' (שׁוֹק, ''Shok.'' ) The phrase "''Hip And Thigh'' " occurs in &nbsp;Judges 15:8, in the account of Samson's slaughter of the Philistines. Gesenius translates עִל in this passage ''With,'' and understands it as a proverbial expression for "he smote them all." The [[Chaldee]] paraphrase interprets it, "He smote both footmen and horsemen, the one resting on their legs (as the word שׁוֹק should be rendered), the other on their thighs, as they sat on their horses." Others understand that he smote them both on the legs and thighs. Some give another interpretation: ''Smiting On The Thigh'' denotes penitence (&nbsp;Jeremiah 31:19), grief, and mourning (&nbsp;Ezekiel 21:12). </p> <p> A few mistranslations occur. The word "thigh" should have been translated "leg" in &nbsp;Isaiah 47:2, שׁוֹק, κνήμας '', Crura.'' In &nbsp;Song of Solomon 7:1, "The joints of thy thighs," etc., the true meaning is "the cincture of thy loins (i.e. the drawers, trousers) is like jewelry." Lady Wortley Montagu describes this article of female attire as: composed of thin rose-colored damask, brocaded with silver flowers" (Letters, 2, 12; see Harmer, On Solomon's Song, p. 110). Cocceius, Buxtorf, Mercerus and Junius all adopt this explanation. In &nbsp;Revelation 19:16 it is said "the Word of God (&nbsp;Revelation 19:13) hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords." Schleusner thinks the name was not written upon the thigh, but upon the sword. Montfaucon gives an account of several images of warriors having inscriptions on the thighs (Antiquite Expliquae, III, 2, 268, 269; Grupter, 3, 1489; and Zornii Opuscula S. S. 2, 759). </p>

<p> ''''' thı̄ ''''' ( ירך , <i> ''''' yārēkh ''''' </i> ; [[Aramaic]] ירכה , <i> ''''' yarekhāh ''''' </i> (&nbsp; Daniel 2:32 ); μηρός , <i> '''''meros''''' </i> (Judith 9:2; [[Sirach]] 19:12; &nbsp;Revelation 19:16 ); as part of a sacrificial animal (&nbsp;Exodus 29:22 , etc.) שׁיק , <i> '''''shōḳ''''' </i> , the King James Version, the Revised Version margin "shoulder"; in addition the King James Version has "thigh" for <i> '''''shōḳ''''' </i> in &nbsp;Isaiah 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 (&nbsp; Exodus 32:27; &nbsp;Judges 3:16 , &nbsp;Judges 3:21; &nbsp;Psalm 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 (&nbsp;Revelation 19:16 ). The "hollow of the thigh" (&nbsp;Genesis 32:25 ff) is the hip-socket or the groin. See also [[Hip]] . </p> <p> The thighs were thought to play a part in procreation (&nbsp;Genesis 46:26; &nbsp;Exodus 1:5 , English [[Versions]] of the Bible "loins"; &nbsp;Judges 8:30 , English Versions of the Bible "body"; compare &nbsp;Numbers 5:21 ff), so that an oath taken with the hand under the thigh (&nbsp; Genesis 24:2 , &nbsp;Genesis 24:9; &nbsp;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 both Gen 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 (&nbsp;1 Samuel 9:24; &nbsp;Ezekiel 24:4 )) determined its choice as a sacrificial potion (&nbsp;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 of &nbsp;Genesis 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]] ( <i> '''''Ḥullı̄n''''' </i> vii), where, for instance, all food cooked with meat containing the sinew ( <i> nervus ischiadicus </i> ) is rendered unclean if the sinew imparts a flavor to it, but not otherwise. (For further details see the comms., especially Skinner. ( <i> ICC </i> ) and <i> RS2 </i> , 380.) One of the proofs of guilt in the jealousy trial (&nbsp;Numbers 5:27 ) was the falling-away of the "thigh" (a euphemism; see Jealousy ). To smite upon the thigh was a token of contrition (&nbsp;Jeremiah 31:19 ) or of terror (Ezr &nbsp;Genesis 21:12 ). </p>