SPECIAL TOPIC: INWARD PARTS, BOWELS
"Inward parts" is the word for "bowels" (BDB 588, #4). The ancients believed that the lower viscera (liver, kidneys, bowels) was the seat of the emotions:
The word (BDB 588) is used in several senses.
There are several OT terms that are synonymous as the source of feelings.
Notice the usage in Prov. 12:10; 26:22; Jer. 28:13,51; 2 Macc. 9:5-6; 4 Macc. 10:8; Baruch 2:17.
Paul uses this imagery of the lower viscera often (cf. 2 Cor. 6:12; 7:15; Phil. 1:8; 2:1; Col. 3:12; Philemon 1:7,12,20.
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