Inward Part

A symbolic expression in the Old Testament represented by three Hebrew words: חדר, ḥedher, “chamber,” hence, inmost bowels or breast; טחות, tuḥōth, “the reins”; קרב, ḳerebh, “midst,” “middle,” hence, heart. Once in the New Testament (ἒσωθεν, ésōthen, “from within,” Luke 11:39). The viscera (heart, liver, kidneys) were supposed by the ancients to be the seat of the mind, feelings, affections: the highest organs of the psyche, “the soul.” The term includes the intellect (“wisdom in the inward parts,” Job 38:36); the moral nature (“inward part is very wickedness,” Psalms 5:9); the spiritual (“my law in their inward parts,” Jeremiah 31:33). Its adverbial equivalent in Biblical use is “inwardly.” INWARD, MAN (which see) is identical in meaning.

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Author: International Std. Bible Encyclopedia

Keywords: Inward Part, Heart, Psyche, Bowel, Intellect, Affection, Feeling

Source: James Orr (editor), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 5 volume set.

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