Thumb
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible [1]
Thumb . The thumb is associated with the great toe, and occurs in two different connexions. 1. We are told that Adonibezek’s thumbs and great toes were cut off ( Judges 1:8 ), and that he himself had practised this mutilation on seventy kings ( Judges 1:7 ). The object seems to have been to render the vanquished monarchs unfit for war and thus for reigning in a warlike age. 2. In the ritual of the consecration of Aaron and his sons ( Exodus 29:20 , Leviticus 8:23-24 ) blood was sprinkled on ‘the tip of the right ear, upon the thumb of the right hand and the great toe of the right foot.’ The cleansed leper was similarly sprinkled with blood and oil ( Leviticus 14:14; Leviticus 14:17; Leviticus 14:25; Leviticus 14:28 ). The action seems to have symbolized the consecration (or purification) of the whole man, the extremities only being touched, just as only the horns of the altar were sprinkled with the blood.
W. F. Boyd.
Webster's Dictionary [2]
(1): ( n.) The short, thick first digit of the human hand, differing from the other fingers in having but two phalanges; the pollex. See Pollex.
(2): ( v. t.) To handle awkwardly.
(3): ( v. t.) To play with the thumbs, or with the thumbs and fingers; as, to thumb over a tune.
(4): ( v. t.) To soil or wear with the thumb or the fingers; to soil, or wear out, by frequent handling; also, to cover with the thumb; as, to thumb the touch-hole of a cannon.
(5): ( v. i.) To play with the thumb or thumbs; to play clumsily; to thrum.
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types [3]
Leviticus 14:14 (b) This type is used to represent the work and works of the priest. The blood and the oil on the thumb indicate that all the service of the servant of GOD was henceforth to be dedicated only to GOD. JESUS' whole hands were covered with blood, for He worked only for the Father. (See also Leviticus 8:23; Exodus 29:20).
