Foot

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

FOOT. —The references in this connexion arise chiefly from the fact that the foot in relationship to the head is the inferior part of the body.

1. Humility and defilement .—A still lower level was reached by the shoes or sandals, which were in direct contact with the common earth. John the Baptist indicated his inferiority to Christ by saying that he was unworthy to unfasten His shoelatchet ( Mark 1:7). To walk barefoot was the sign of a captive prisoner ( Isaiah 20:4), and as a voluntary act of self-infliction often forms part of a personal vow. To be trodden under foot was the symbol of utter degradation ( Matthew 5:13,  Luke 21:24,  Hebrews 10:29). At the entrance to an Oriental house the shoes are removed, not merely for the sake of cleanliness as a preliminary to sitting down with the feet drawn under the dress, but also out of regard to the sanctity of family life, so that no defilement may touch the rugs and mats that have been hallowed by prayer and the Divine presence. He who stood on holy ground had to put off his shoes ( Exodus 3:5,  Joshua 5:15).

Orientals are not accustomed to wear stockings with their open shoes, and it was an act not only of ceremonial duty, but of personal comfort, to bathe the feet after a journey over the hot and dusty ground. It was a courtesy due to a guest to see that this ministry was not omitted. Christ drew attention to the fact that in the house of one who prided himself upon his precise fulfilment of the Law this service had been more than rendered to Him by a woman whom the Pharisee despised as a sinner ( Luke 7:44;  Luke 7:46). The charge to His disciples to shake the dust from their feet wherever the message of the Kingdom was not received ( Matthew 10:14,  Mark 6:11,  Luke 9:5;  Luke 10:11), was a demonstration to both parties of the unfitness of such people for its membership. When Christ washed the disciples’ feet, the cleansing meant not only that the feet under which His sacred hands had been placed could never turn aside to paths of evil, but that they could never be set down with harsh and proud authority over the lives and rights of others. His service could never lay upon those disciples any greater humiliation than had been rendered to them. It became a law of the Kingdom to ‘wash one another’s feet’ ( John 13:5;  John 13:14).

2 . Authority and subjection .—To approach the feet of the great was the conceded right of the weak in seeking the presence and help of the powerful. To kneel down and clasp the feet and even to kiss them is still the Oriental preliminary to an important request. When inferiors salute those of higher rank, the first act of gesture is to lower the hand towards the ground as if to imply that the whole body should be there. Sometimes the word is allowed to do service for the deed, as when the supplicant says, ‘Allow me to kiss your feet.’ The impression meant to be produced is that the party addressed has the power to do what is asked, and that the only unsettled point is the question of his willingness ( Matthew 18:29;  Matthew 20:20,  Mark 1:40;  Mark 10:17).

The foot on the neck as a symbol of conquest seems to have been borrowed from the primitive pastoral life. When an Oriental shepherd wishes to punish a straying and inattentive sheep, he casts it on its side, and with all his weight presses and rubs the iron-studded sole of his shoe against its neck ( 1 Corinthians 15:25;  1 Corinthians 15:27). In killing a serpent, the Syrian peasant, even with a stick in his hand, usually, after a blow or two, jumps upon the serpent, and by a quick succession of stamps bruises it to death ( Psalms 91:13,  Romans 16:20). To sit at the feet of his teacher was the attitude of the disciple ( Matthew 10:24,  Luke 10:39,  Acts 22:3). The Pharisees thus sat in Moses’ seat ( Matthew 23:2).

The risen Lord was recognized by the marks in His hands and His feet ( Luke 24:40); see Print. On  Matthew 18:8 || see Asceticism, p. 129.

G. M. Mackie.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

FOOT .   Isaiah 3:18;   Isaiah 3:18 refers to the ornaments of women’s feet. Most of the metaphorical or figurative usages are connected with the idea of the feet as the lowest part of the body, opposed to the head; hence falling at a man’s feet, as the extreme of reverence or humility, kissing the feet (  Luke 7:38 ), sitting at the feet, as the attitude of the pupil (  Luke 10:39 ,   Acts 22:3 ). The foot was literally placed on the neck of conquered foes (  Joshua 10:24 ), as may be seen in Egyptian monuments. Hence ‘under foot’ is used of subjection (  Psalms 8:6 ,   1 Corinthians 15:27 ). In   Deuteronomy 11:10 the reference is to some system of irrigation in vogue in Egypt, either to the turning of a water-wheel by the foot, or to a method of distributing water from a canal ‘by making or breaking down with the foot the small ridges which regulate its flow’ (Driver, ad loc. ). Other usages arise from the feet as stained or defiled in walking. The shaking of dust from the feet (  Matthew 10:14 ,   Acts 13:51 ) was the sign of complete rejection; the land was as a heathen land, and its dust unclean. So the sandals were removed as a sign of reverence (  Exodus 3:5 ,   Joshua 5:15; cf. covering the feet,   Isaiah 6:2 ). To remove the sandal was also the sign of the renunciation of a right (  Deuteronomy 25:9 ,   Ruth 4:8 ). To walk barefoot was the symbol of mourning (  2 Samuel 15:30 ) or slavery (  Isaiah 20:2 ).   Jeremiah 2:25 ‘Withhold thy foot from being unshod,’ i.e. do not wear the shoes off your feet in running after strange gods.

Washing the feet stained with the dust of the road was part of the regular duty of hospitality (  Genesis 18:4 , Exo 30:19 ,   2 Samuel 11:8 ,   Song of Solomon 5:3 ,   Luke 7:44 ). The use of ointment for this purpose was the sign of the penitent’s lavish love (  Luke 7:38 , Joh   John 12:3 ). The washing of the feet at the Last Supper is primarily connected with this custom (  John 13:1-38 ). Christ ‘the Lord and Master’ assumes the garb and does the work of a slave (  John 13:4 ). The lesson is not merely one of humility (cf. the dispute in   Luke 22:24 ), but of ready and self-sacrificing service. An interesting Rabbinic parallel is quoted on   Ezekiel 16:9 : ‘Among men the slave washes his master; but with God it is not so.’ Edersheim further sees in the act a substitute for the washing of hands which was part of the Paschal ceremonial; and there may be a reference to the proverb, connected with the Greek mysteries, that a great undertaking must not be entered upon ‘with unwashed feet.’ The service of the Kingdom of heaven (or in particular the crisis of that night) is not to be approached in the spirit of unthinking pride shown in the dispute about precedence (see D. Smith, The Days of His Flesh , p. 440). Besides the lesson of humility, there is also the symbolism of purification. St. Peter, at first protesting, afterwards characteristically accepts this as literal. Christ’s reply takes up the figure of one who has walked from the bath to his host’s house, and needs only to have the dust of his journey removed. Broadly, they are clean by their consecration to Him, but they need continual cleansing from the defilements of daily life. ‘It seems impossible not to see in the word “bathed” a foreshadowing of the idea of Christian baptism’ (Westcott, ad loc. ). The same or other commentaries should be consulted for later imitations of the ceremony (cf.   1 Timothy 5:10 ).

C. W. Emmet.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

Anciently it was customary, to wash the feet of strangers coming off a journey, because generally they travelled barefoot, or wore sandals only, which did not secure them from dust or dirt. Jesus Christ washed the feet of his Apostles, and thereby taught them to perform the humblest services for one another. Feet, in the sacred writers, often mean inclinations, affections, propensities, actions, motions: "Guide my feet in thy paths." "Keep thy feet at a distance from evil." "The feet of the debauched woman go down to death." "Let not the foot of pride come against me." To be at any one's feet, signifies obeying him, listening to his instructions and commands. Moses says that "the Lord loved his people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at his feet,"  Deuteronomy 33:3 . St. Paul was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel. Mary sat at our Saviour's feet, and heard his word,  Luke 10:39 .

It is said that the land of Canaan is not like Egypt, "where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot,"   Deuteronomy 11:10 . Palestine is a country which has rains, plentiful dews, springs, rivulets, brooks, &c, that supply the earth with the moisture necessary to its fruitfulness. On the contrary, Egypt has no river except the Nile: there it seldom rains, and the lands which are not within reach of the inundation continue parched and barren. To supply this want, ditches are dug from the river, and water is distributed throughout the several villages and cantons: there are great struggles who shall first obtain it; and, in this dispute, they frequently come to blows. Notwithstanding these precautions, many places have no water; and in the course of the year, those places which are nearest the Nile require to be watered again by means of art and labour. This was formerly done by the help of machines, one of which is thus described by Philo: It is a wheel which a man turns by the motion of his feet, by ascending successively the several steps that are within it. This is what Moses means in this place by saying, that, in Egypt they water the earth with their feet. The water in thus conveyed to cisterns; and when the gardens want refreshment, water is conducted by trenches to the beds in little rills, which are stopped by the foot, and turned at pleasure into different directions.

2. To be under any one's feet, to be a footstool to him, signifies the subjection of a subject to his sovereign, of a slave to his master. To lick the dust of one's feet, is an abject manner of doing homage. In Mr. Hugh Boyd's account of his embassy to the king of Candy, in Ceylon, there is a paragraph which singularly illustrates this, and shows the adulation and obsequious reverence with which an eastern monarch is approached. Describing his introduction to the king, he says, "The removal of the curtain was the signal of our obeisances. Mine, by stipulation, was to be only kneeling. My companions immediately began the performance of theirs, which were in the most perfect degree of eastern humiliation. They almost literally licked the dust; prostrating themselves with their faces almost close to the stone floor, and throwing out their arms and legs; then, rising on their knees, they repeated, in a very loud voice, a certain form of words of the most extravagant meaning that can be conceived, that the head of the king of kings might reach beyond the sun; that he might live a thousand years," &c. Nakedness of feet was a sign of mourning. God says to Ezekiel, "Make no mourning for the dead, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet," &c. It was also a mark of respect: "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground,"   Exodus 3:5 . The rabbins say that the priests went barefoot in the temple. "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day,"

 Isaiah 58:13; if thou forbear walking and travelling on the Sabbath day, and do not then thine own will. We know that journeys were forbidden on the Sabbath day,  Matthew 24:20;  Acts 1:12 . Kissing the feet was often practised as a mark of affection and reverence.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Exodus 12:11 Acts 14:8 Ezekiel 1:7 Isaiah 60:13 Genesis 6:15

In the ancient world with unpaved roads, feet easily became dirty and had to be washed often. From earliest times, hosts offered to wash their guests' feet ( Genesis 18:4 ), usually done by the lowest servant ( John 13:3-14 ). High honor was paid by anointing another's feet ( Deuteronomy 33:24;  Luke 7:46;  John 12:3 ).

Because it was so easy to soil one's feet, to remove the shoes was a sign of getting rid of dirt and so indicated holiness in worship ( Exodus 3:5 ). To shake the dust off one's feet meant total rejection of that place ( Acts 13:51 ). For both the Israelites and the Romans, punishment might include binding the feet in stocks ( Job 13:27;  Acts 16:24 ). Often “feet” symbolize the whole person, since it is hard to act without using the feet (“refrained my feet from every evil way” means “kept myself from evil,”  Psalm 119:101; compare  Luke 1:79;  Acts 5:9;  Romans 3:15 ).

A verse frequently quoted in the New Testament is  Psalm 110:1 : “Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” ( Mark 12:36; Hebrew, “stool for your feet”). Early Christians took this to be a prophecy of Christ's ultimate dominion over all who would acknowledge Him ( Matthew 22:44;  Mark 12:36;  Luke 20:42-43;  Acts 2:34-35;  Hebrews 1:13 ).

Several biblical expressions contain “feet.” “Put your feet upon the necks of these” suggested total victory over someone ( Joshua 10:24 ). This was also implied by the phrase to put someone “under your feet” ( Romans 16:20;  1 Corinthians 15:25 ). “To fall at someone's feet” showed humble submission, often when one had a request ( 1 Samuel 25:24;  Luke 17:16 ). “To cover one's feet” was a euphemism for relieving oneself ( 1 Samuel 24:3 ). For one's foot “to slip” or “to be taken in a snare” meant calamity ( Psalm 9:15;  Psalm 66:9 ). “The feet of him that bringeth good tidings” meant their coming ( Isaiah 52:7 ). To sit “at the feet” meant to be a listener or disciple of someone ( Acts 22:3 ) “Laid them down” at someone's feet suggested that the thing was a gift ( Acts 4:35 ).

Kendell Easley

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

The expressions in  Deuteronomy 32:35 , "their foot shall slide in due time," and in the traveler's song,  Psalm 121:3 , "he will not suffer thy foot to be moved,"  Psalm 66:9   Jeremiah 13:16 , have reference to the dangerous character of the narrow roads or paths of the East, over rocks and beside precipices where a sliding foot was often fatal. See also  Isaiah 8:14   Luke 2:34 . Nakedness of feet was a sign of mourning. God says to Ezekiel, "Make no mourning for the dead, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet,"  Ezekiel 24:17 . It was likewise a mark of respect. Moses put off his shoes to approach the burning bush; and most commentators are of opinion that the priests served in the tabernacle with their feet naked, as they did afterwards in the temple. The Turks never enter their mosques till after they have washed their feet and their hands, and have put off the outward covering of their legs. The Christians of Ethiopia enter their churches with their shoes off, and the Indian Brahmins and others have the same respect for their pagodas and temples. Eastern conquerors used to set their feet on the necks of conquered princes,  Joshua 10:22 , and action often figured in ancient sculptures,  Psalm 8:6   Isaiah 49:23   1 Corinthians 15:25   Hebrews 2:8 . See Nineveh .

The orientals used to wash the feet of strangers who came off a journey, because they commonly walked with their legs bare, and their feet defended only by sandals,  Genesis 24:32   43:24 . So Abraham washed the feet of the three angels,  Genesis 18:4 . This office was usually performed by servants and slaves; and hence Abigail answers David, who sought her in marriage, that she should think it an honor to wash the feet of the king's servants,  1 Samuel 25:41 . Paul would have a widow assisted by the church, to be one who had hospitably washed the feet of saints,  1 Timothy 5:10 . The practice is still met with in Palestine. Says Dr. Robinson, at Ramleh, "Our youthful host now proposed, in the genuine style of ancient oriental hospitality, that a servant should wash our feet. This took me by surprise; for I was not aware that the custom still existed here. Nor does it indeed towards foreigners, though it is quite common among the natives. We gladly accepted the proposal, both for the sake of the refreshment and of the scriptural illustration. A female Nubian slave accordingly brought water, which she poured upon our feet over a large shallow basin of tinned copper, kneeling before us and rubbing our feet with her hands, and wiping them with a napkin. It was one of the most gratifying minor incidents of our whole journey." Our Savior, after his last supper, gave a striking lesson of humility, by washing his disciples' feet,  John 13:5-6,8 , though the eighth verse shows that he had also a deeper meaning. See Sandals .

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Deuteronomy 32:35 (a) In this way the Lord is indicating that the enemies of GOD will be cut off and die.

 Deuteronomy 33:24 (a) By this we learn that the walk of the Godly man shall be a spiritual one filled with the richness and sweetness of GOD's blessings.

 Psalm 68:23 (a) This type is used to describe the victory over their enemies of those who walk in fellowship with GOD.

 Psalm 94:18 (b) David uses this type to describe his feeling; that he was drifting away from GOD's path.

 Ecclesiastes 5:1 (b) By this figure we are admonished to watch the walk and the manner of life.

 Isaiah 1:6 (c) The whole person is evidently wicked and vile in GOD's sight. Men are mad in their walk and their thought. The feet represent our walk, the head represents the thought. There is nothing at all in a human being that is acceptable to GOD until we trust Jesus Christ and become GOD's children.

 Ezekiel 1:7 (b) These are types of the walk of our Lord Jesus Christ The calf is sure-footed and leaves a definite imprint where it steps. So Christ Jesus walked in a sure and certain path without sin, and left the imprint of His holiness wherever He went.

 Matthew 5:13 (a) Here we find a type of the actions of the world against the professing Christian who claims that he belongs to the Lord, yet shows no proofs of it in his daily life. Neither the world nor the church has any confidence in that man, and refuses to receive his testimony. This truth is also found in  John 15:6.

 Matthew 18:8 (b) In this way the Lord is telling us that if we want to walk in the ways of the world so that the feet take us astray to the picture show, the tavern, the dance, it is best to cut off that foot so that such desires cannot and will not keep us away from Christ (See also  Mark 9:45).

 Matthew 22:13 (c) In many places in the Bible what we do, what we say, and how we walk and work are compared to garments or robes. Evidently the teaching in this passage is that this man wanted to be at the king's banquet in his own self-righteousness. Since this self-righteousness comes from the hands (what we do), and from the feet (how we walk), the Lord is indicating how worthless these are by telling the servant to bind him "hand and foot," and to cast him out of His presence.

 1 Corinthians 12:15 (b) This is a type of a Christian, any Christian. The Lord is telling us here that no part of the body is independent from the rest of the body. Every Christian is essential to the entire church of GOD. No, believer, no matter how humble or obscure, is overlooked by the Lord, either as to his care or his usefulness.

 Hebrews 10:29 (b) Here is a picture of the hatred that some had and some now have toward the person of our Lord Jesus It is a picture of utter contempt for CHRIST, and a desire to crush Him.

 Revelation 10:2 (b) This figure represents the absolute power and authority of our Lord over all nations and His ability to punish all people.

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( n.) The lower edge of a sail.

(2): ( v. i.) To tread to measure or music; to dance; to trip; to skip.

(3): ( v. t.) To tread; as, to foot the green.

(4): ( v. t.) To sum up, as the numbers in a column; - sometimes with up; as, to foot (or foot up) an account.

(5): ( v. t.) The size or strike with the talon.

(6): ( v. i.) To walk; - opposed to ride or fly.

(7): ( n.) A combination of syllables consisting a metrical element of a verse, the syllables being formerly distinguished by their quantity or length, but in modern poetry by the accent.

(8): ( n.) A measure of length equivalent to twelve inches; one third of a yard. See Yard.

(9): ( n.) Recognized condition; rank; footing; - used only in the singular.

(10): ( n.) Fundamental principle; basis; plan; - used only in the singular.

(11): ( n.) The lowest part or base; the ground part; the bottom, as of a mountain or column; also, the last of a row or series; the end or extremity, esp. if associated with inferiority; as, the foot of a hill; the foot of the procession; the foot of a class; the foot of the bed.

(12): ( n.) The terminal part of the leg of man or an animal; esp., the part below the ankle or wrist; that part of an animal upon which it rests when standing, or moves. See Manus, and Pes.

(13): ( v. t.) To kick with the foot; to spurn.

(14): ( v. t.) To set on foot; to establish; to land.

(15): ( n.) Soldiers who march and fight on foot; the infantry, usually designated as the foot, in distinction from the cavalry.

(16): ( n.) The muscular locomotive organ of a mollusk. It is a median organ arising from the ventral region of body, often in the form of a flat disk, as in snails. See Illust. of Buccinum.

(17): ( n.) That which corresponds to the foot of a man or animal; as, the foot of a table; the foot of a stocking.

(18): ( v. t.) To renew the foot of, as of stocking.

King James Dictionary

FOOT, n. plu. feet. L. pes, pedis. Probably this word is allied to the Gr. to walk, to tread. Eng. verb, to tread.

1. In animal bodies, the lower extremity of the leg the part of the leg which treads the earth in standing or walking, and by which the animal is sustained and enabled to step. 2. That which bears some resemblance to an animal's foot in shape or office the lower end of any thing that supports a body as the foot of a table. 3. The lower part the base as the foot of a column or of a mountain. 4. The lower part the bottom as the foot of an account the foot of a sail. 5. Foundation condition state. We are not on the same foot with our fellow citizens. In this sense, it is more common, in America, to use footing and in this sense the plural is not used. 6. Plan of establishment fundamental principles. Our constitution may hereafter be placed on a better foot.

In this sense the plural is not used.

7. In military language, soldiers who march and fight on foot infantry, as distinguished from cavalry.

In this sense the plural is not used.

8. A measure consisting of twelve inches supposed to be taken from the length of a man's foot. Geometricians divide the foot into 10 digits, and the digit into 10 lines. 9. In poetry, a certain number of syllables, constituting part of a verse as the iambus, the dactyl, and the spondee. 10. Step pace. 11. Level par. obs. 12. The part of a stocking or boot which receives the foot.

By foot, or rather, on foot, by walking, as to go or pass on foot or by fording, as to pass a stream on foot. See the next definition.

To set on foot, to originate to begin to put in motion as, to set on foot a subscription. Hence, to be on foot, is to be in motion, action or process of execution.

FOOT,

1. To dance to tread to measure or music to skip. 2. To walk opposed to ride or fly. In this sense, the word is commonly followed by it.

If you are for a merry jaunt, I'll try, for once, who can foot it farthest.

FOOT,

1. To kick to strike with the foot to spurn. 2. To settle to begin to fix. Little used. 3. To tread as, to foot the green. 4. To add the numbers in a column, and set the sum at the foot as, to foot an account. 5. To seize and hold with the foot. Not used. 6. To add or make a foot as, to foot a stocking or boot.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Sandals covered only the soles, so that the feet needed washing when coming from a journey. In  John 13:10 a distinct Greek word expresses bathing the whole person and washing the feet; "he that is washed ( Leloumenos ) needeth not save to wash ( Nipsasthai ) his feet, but is clean every whit." When one has been, as Peter, once for all wholly forgiven in regeneration, and so received the bathing of the whole man, i.e. justification through faith in Jesus, he needs no repetition of this as Peter requested; all he needs is cleansing from the soils that his feet contract in his daily life walk. Hence we daily pray, "give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as," etc. ( 1 John 1:9.) So the priests in entering the house of God ( Exodus 30:19).

It was an act of humble deference to guests to wash the feet ( Luke 7:38-44;  1 Timothy 5:10). Disciples, after Christ's example, were to wash one another's feet, "by love serving one another" ( Galatians 5:13). The sandals were taken off in entering a house, hence the command to Moses ( Exodus 3:5) and to Joshua ( Joshua 5:15); compare  Ecclesiastes 5:1. To put them on was to prepare for active duty ( Ezekiel 24:17); whereas mourners went barefoot ( 2 Samuel 15:30). To "cover the feet" was the delicate expression for easing oneself, preparatory to which the loose garment was let fall to cover the person ( 1 Samuel 24:3; compare margin  2 Kings 18:27). Putting the feet on captives' necks, as Joshua did ( Joshua 10:24), symbolizes complete mastery ( Psalms 110:1;  1 Corinthians 15:25;  Isaiah 60:14).

Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words

Regel ( רֶגֶל , 7272), “foot; leg.” Regel is a word found in many Semitic languages, referring to a part of the body. In the Old Testament, the word is used a total of 245 times, with its first occurrence in Gen. 8:9.

Regel may refer to the “foot” of a human (Gen. 18:4), an animal (Ezek. 29:11), a bird (Gen. 8:9), or even a table (a rare usage; Exod. 25:26, KJV). The word’s usage is also extended to signify the “leg”: “And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders” (1 Sam. 17:6). Regel is used euphemistically for the genital area; thus urine is “water of the legs” (2 Kings 18:27) and pubic hair is “hair of the legs” (Isa. 7:20). The foot’s low place gave rise to an idiom: “From the sole of the foot to the crown of the head” (cf. Deut. 28:35), signifying the “total extent of the body.”

“Foot” may be a metaphor of “arrogance”: “Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me” (Ps. 36:11). It is used to represent Israel: “Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them” (2 Kings 21:8).

In anthropomorphic expressions, God has “feet.” Thus God revealed Himself with a pavement of sapphire as clear as the sky under His “feet” (Exod. 24:10). The authors of Scripture portray God as having darkness (Ps. 18:9) and clouds of dust beneath His “feet” (Nah. 1:3), and sending a plague out from His “feet” (Hab. 3:5). His “feet” are said to rest on the earth (Isa. 66:1); the temple is also the resting place of His “feet”: “… And I will make the place of my feet glorious” (Isa. 60:13). Similarly, the seraphim had “feet,” which they covered with a pair of wings as they stood in the presence of God (Isa. 6:2); the cherubim had “feet” that Ezekiel described (Ezek. 1:7).

The Septuagint gives the following translations: pous (“foot”) and skelos (“leg”).

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

See Feet

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

foot ( רגל , reghel , קרסל , ḳarṣōl (only twice in parallel passages:  2 Samuel 22:37 =   Psalm 18:36 , where it probably means ankle); πούς , poús ): The dusty roads of Palestine and other eastern lands make a much greater care of the feet necessary than we are accustomed to bestow upon them. The absence of socks or stockings, the use of sandals and low shoes rather than boots and, to an even greater degree, the frequent habit of walking barefoot make it necessary to wash the feet repeatedly every day. This is always done when entering the house, especially the better upper rooms which are usually carpeted. It is a common dictate of good manners to perform this duty to a visitor, either personally or through a servant; at least water for washing has to be presented ( Genesis 18:4;  Luke 7:44 ). This has therefore become almost synonymous with the bestowal of hospitality ( 1 Timothy 5:10 ). At an early date this service was considered one of the lowest tasks of servants ( 1 Samuel 25:41 ), probably because the youngest and least trained servants were charged with the task, or because of the idea of defilement connected with the foot. It was, for the same reason, if rendered voluntarily, a service which betokened complete devotion. Jesus taught the greatest lesson of humility by performing this humble service to His disciples ( John 13:4-15 ). The undoing of the latchets or leather thongs of the sandals ( Mark 1:7;  Luke 3:16;  John 1:27 ) seems to refer to the same menial duty.

Often the feet and shoes were dusted on the highway, as is being done in the Orient to this day, but if it were done in an ostentatious manner in the presence of a person or a community who had refused hospitality to a stranger, it was understood in the same sense in which the cutting in two of the tablecloth was considered in the days of knighthood: it meant rejection and separation ( Matthew 10:14;  Acts 13:51 ).

The roads of the desert were not only dusty but rough, and the wanderer was almost sure to ruin his ill-made shoes and wound his weary feet. A special providence of God protected the children of Israel from this experience during the long journey through the wilderness. "Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years" ( Deuteronomy 8:4;  Deuteronomy 29:5 ).

In the house shoes and sandals were never worn; even the most delicate would put on shoes only when going out ( Deuteronomy 28:56 ). The shoes were left outside of the house or in a vestibule. This was especially done in the house of God and at the time of prayer, for whenever or wherever that might be, the law was: "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground" ( Exodus 3:5;  Joshua 5:15;  Acts 7:33 ). This custom still prevails among the Moslems of our day. Probably it was the idea of defilement through contact with the common ground which gave rise to its moral application by the Preacher, "Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God" ( Ecclesiastes 5:1 (Hebrew 4:17)).

Nakedness of the feet in public, especially among the wealthier classes, who used to wear shoes or sandals, was a token of mourning ( Ezekiel 24:17 and probably also   Jeremiah 2:25 and   Isaiah 20:2-4 ). A peculiar ceremony is referred to in  Deuteronomy 25:9 ,  Deuteronomy 25:10 , whereby a brother-in-law, who refused to perform his duty under the Levirate law, was publicly put to shame. "And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed." See also Rth 4:7, Rth 4:8.

Numerous are the phrases in which the word "foot" or "feet" is used in Biblical language. "To cover the feet" ( 1 Samuel 24:3 ) is synonymous with obeying a call of Nature. "To speak with the feet" is expressive of the eloquence of abusive and obscene gesticulation among oriental people, where hands, eyes and feet are able to express much without the use of words ( Proverbs 6:13 ). "To sit at the feet," means to occupy the place of a learner ( Deuteronomy 33:3;  Luke 10:39;  Acts 22:3 ). Vanquished enemies had to submit to being trodden upon by the conqueror (a ceremony often represented on Egyptian monuments;  Joshua 10:24;  Psalm 8:6;  Psalm 110:1; compare  Isaiah 49:23 ). James warns against an undue humiliation of those who join us in the service of God, even though they be poor or mean-looking, by bidding them to take a lowly place at the feet of the richer members of the congregation ( James 2:3 ). We read of dying Jacob that "he gathered up his feet into the bed," for he had evidently used his bed as a couch, on which he had been seated while delivering his charge to his several sons ( Genesis 49:33 ). "Foot" or "feet" is sometimes used euphemistically for the genitals ( Deuteronomy 28:57;  Ezekiel 16:25 ). In  Deuteronomy 11:10 an interesting reference is made to some Egyptian mode of irrigating the fields, 'the watering with the foot,' which mode would be unnecessary in the promised land of Canaan which "drinketh water of the rain of heaven." It is, however, uncertain whether this refers to the water-wheels worked by a treadmill arrangement or whether reference is made to the many tributary channels, which, according to representations on the Egyptian monuments, intersected the gardens and fields and which could be stopped or opened by placing or removing a piece of sod at the mouth of the channel. This was usually done with the foot. Frequently we find references to the foot in expressions connected with journeyings and pilgrimages, which formed so large a part in the experiences of Israel, e.g.   Psalm 91:12 , "lest thou dash thy foot against a stone";  Psalm 94:18 , "My foot slippeth";  Psalm 121:3 , "He will not suffer thy foot to be moved," and many more. Often the reference is to the "walk," i.e. the moral conduct of life ( Psalm 73:2;  Job 23:11;  Job 31:5 ).

Figurative: In the metaphorical language of   Isaiah 52:7 "the feet" are synonymous with "the coming."

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(properly רֶנֶל , Re'Gel, Ποῦς ). Of the various senses in which the word "foot" is used in Scripture The following are the most remarkable. Such phrases as the "slipping" of the foot, the "stumbling" of the foot, "from head to foot" (to express the entire body), and "footsteps" (to express tendencies, as when we say of one that he walks in another's footstep), require no explanation, being common to most languages.

The extreme modesty of the Hebrew language, which has perhaps seldom been sufficiently appreciated dictated the use of the word "feet" to express the parts and the acts which it is not allowed to name. Hence such phrases as the "hair of the feet," the "water of the feet," "between the feet," "to open the feet," "to cover the feet," all of which are sufficiently intelligible, except perhaps the last, While certainly does not mean "going to sleep," as some interpreters suggest, but "to dismiss the refuse of nature."

"To be under any one's feet" denotes the subordination of a subject to his sovereign, or of a servant to his master ( Psalms 8:6; comp.  Hebrews 2:8;  1 Corinthians 15:26); and was doubtless derived from the symbolical action of conquerors, who set their feet upon the neck or body of the chiefs whom they had vanquished, in token of their triumph. This custom is expressly mentioned in Scripture ( Joshua 10:23), and is figured on the monuments of Egypt, Persia, and Rome., (See Triumph).

In like manner, "to be at any one's feet" is used for being at the service of any one, following him, or willingly receiving his instructions ( Judges 4:10). The last passage, in which Paul is described as being brought up "at the feet of Gamaliel," will appear still clearer if we understand that, as thee Jewish writers allege, pupils actually did sit on the floor before, and therefore. at the feet of, the doctors of the law, who themselves were raised on an elevated seat. (See Disciple).

"Lameness of feet" generally denotes affliction or calamity, as in  Psalms 35:15;  Psalms 38:18;  Jeremiah 20:10;  Micah 4:6-7;  Zechariah 3:9. (See Lame).

"To set one's foot" in a place signifies to take possession of it, as in Deuteronomy 1:36; 11:34, and elsewhere.

"To water with the feet" ( Deuteronomy 11:10) implies that the soil was watered with as much ease as a garden, in which the small channels for irrigation may be turned, etc., with the foot. (See Garden).

An elegant phrase, borrowed from the feet, occurs in  Galatians 2:14, where Paul says, "When I saw that they walked not uprightly, ῎Οὐκ Ὀρθοποδοῦσι , literally, "not with a straight foot," or "did not foot it straightly."

Nakedness of feet expressed mourning ( Ezekiel 24:17). This must mean. appearing abroad with naked feet, for there is reason to think that the Jews never used their sandals or shoes within doors. The modern Orientals consider it disrespectful to enter a room without taking off the outer covering of their feet. It is with them equivalent to uncovering the head among Europeans. The practice of feet-washing implies a similar usage among the Hebrews. (See Ablution); (See Washing). Uncovering the feet was also a mark of adoration. Moses put off his sandals to approach the burning bush where the presence of God was manifested ( Exodus 3:5). Among the modern Orientals it would be regarded as the height of profanation to enter a place of worship with covered feet. The Egyptian priests officiated barefoot; and most commentators. are of opinion that the Aaronite priests served with bare feet in the tabernacle, as, according to all the Jewish writers, they afterwards did in the Temple, and as the frequent washings of their feet enjoined by the law seem to imply. (See Sandals).

The passage, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth glad tidings, that publisheth peace" ( Isaiah 52:7 ), appears to signify that, although the feet of messengers and travelers are usually rendered disagreeable by the soil and dust of the way, yet the feet of these blessed messengers seemed, notwithstanding, even beautiful, on account of the glad tidings which they bore.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Of the various senses in which the word 'foot' is used in Scripture, the following are the most remarkable. Such phrases as the 'slipping' of the foot, the 'stumbling' of the foot, 'from, head to foot' (to express the entire body), and 'foot-steps' (to express tendencies, as when we say of one that he walks in another's footsteps), require no explanation, being common to most languages. The extreme modesty of the Hebrew language, which has perhaps seldom been sufficiently appreciated, dictated the use of the word 'feet,' to express the parts and the acts which it is not allowed to name. Hence such phrases as the 'hair of the feet,' the 'water of the feet,' 'between the feet,' 'to open the feet,' 'to cover the feet,' all of which are sufficiently intelligible, except perhaps the last, which certainly does not mean 'going to sleep' as some interpreters suggest, but 'to dismiss the refuse of nature.'

'To be under any one's feet' denotes the subjection of a subject to his sovereign, or of a servant to his master (; comp.; ); and was, doubtless, derived from the symbolical action of conquerors, who set their feet upon the neck or body of the chiefs whom they had vanquished, in token of their triumph. This custom is expressly mentioned in Scripture , and is figured on the monuments of Egypt, Persia, and Rome.

In like manner, 'to be at any one's feet,' is used for being at the service of any one, following him, or willingly receiving his instructions . The passage where Paul is described as being brought up 'at the feet of Gamaliel,' will appear still clearer, if we understand that, as the Jewish writers allege, pupils actually did sit on the floor before, and therefore at the feet of, the doctors of the law, who themselves were raised on an elevated seat.

'Lameness of feet' generally denotes affliction or calamity, as in;;;; .

'To set one's foot' in a place signifies to take possession of it, as in; , and elsewhere.

'To water with the feet' implies that the soil was watered with as much ease as a garden, in which the small channels for irrigation may be turned, etc. with the foot [GARDEN].

An elegant phrase, borrowed from the feet, occurs in , where St. Paul says, 'When I saw that they walked not uprightly'—literally, 'not with a straight foot,' or 'did not foot it straightly.'

Nakedness of feet expressed mourning . This must mean appearing abroad with naked feet; for there is reason to think that the Jews never used their sandals or shoes within doors. The modern Orientals consider it disrespectful to enter a room without taking off the outer covering of their feet. It is with them equivalent to uncovering the head among Europeans. The practice of feet-washing implies a similar usage among the Hebrews [[[Washing Of Feet]]] Uncovering the feet was also a mark of adoration. Moses put off his sandals to approach the burning where the presence of God was manifested . Among the modern Orientals it would be regarded the height of profanation to enter a place of worship with covered feet. The Egyptian priests officiated barefoot; and most commentators are of opinion that the Aaronite priests served with bare feet in the tabernacle, as, according to all the Jewish writers, they did afterwards in the temple, and as the frequent washings of their feet enjoined by the law seem to imply [SANDAL].

Respecting the 'washing of feet,' see Ablution and Washing.