Kidneys
in the Bible
Multiple English language translators use
different words to translate the Hebrew word KILYAH.
Some translate Kilyah as mind, heart, reins. Some even translate Kilyah as conscience depending on the context of the
surrounding text. The most accurate translation according to Strong's Lexicon is, Kidney.
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Kidneys in Hebrew Word Background:
3629. kilyah
Original Word: כִּלְיָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: kilyah
Phonetic Spelling: (kil-yaw')
Definition: a kidney
Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
a kidney
NASB Translation
feelings (1), finest* (1), heart (1), inmost being (1), inward parts (2), kidneys (18), mind (5), minds (1), within (1).
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
kidneys, reins
Feminine of kliy (only in the plural); a kidney (as an essential organ); figuratively, the mind (as the interior self) -- kidneys, reins.
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Recently on an interesting what’s App Chat, a
female friend of mine, communicated these words to me: “Did you know we are to love ADONAI with our kidneys?”
Her statement amused me a little and at the same time intrigued me into investigating into this matter.
Let’s
tackle this Philosophically, Systematically, Scientifically and Scripturally too:
Philosophically
3000 Years Ago............ I love you with both of my kidneys!
In ancient and Biblical times, medical knowledge was fairly good enough to come to this anatomical observation, that the kidneys were very deeply placed within the human body form. For poets and writers and thinkers, one can say that the kidneys were safely and mysteriously placed within the human body.
Hence lovers could romantically or poetically say to their beloved that they love them with both of their kidneys, espousing that their love is deep and unseen to the naked eyes.
Till the 13th Century, the Human heart and its modern day non medical shape was never associated or connected with any kind of love. Hence as per the poetic culture of Biblical days, people, poets and writers used the Kidney as an organ to represent deep value or love.
15th & 16th Century Onward........ I love you from the bottom of my Heart.
During this time, the red bloody heart started to gain common and popular acceptance as a representation of love, from romantic love to Godly love.
21st Century as medical knowledge grew........ I love you with all of my Mind.
Now with knowledge multiplying or doubling at the rate of every 12 days , thanks to the Internet and very much soon knowledge is going to multiply or double at the rate of every 12 hours, due to Artificial Intelligence.
Now its common knowledge that the Heart is an organ that is just a BLOODY PUMP. The main job or function is to convert impure blood to pure blood and to pump this fresh vibrant clean blood to all the parts of the human body.
During college days my girlfriend broke up with me as i was not willing to say that I love her with all of my heart. I told her always that I love her with all of my mind!
As a medical and scientific fact, the heart organ does not have the ability to think or emote. Its the MIND that does all the thinking, attracting, lusting, emoting and the emotive part of the brain is responsible for humans getting attracted towards the opposite sex.
So Kidneys in Biblical times, Heart in Medieval times and Mind in Modern times.
Systematically
The Bible was originally written in Hebrew,
Aramaic and Greek, so let’s get to the bottom of this by first getting all the
Scriptures where the word kidney is mentioned in the original ancient
languages.
RELATING
TO SACRIFICIAL OFFERINGS:
... both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys. the two kidneys and the fat around ...
... both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys. the two kidneys and the fat around ...
... both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys. the two kidneys and the fat ...
... both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys. the two kidneys and the fat around ...
... both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys- the two kidneys and the fat around them ...
... On the altar he burned the fat, the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver from the sin offering, as the LORD commanded Moses; Then he burned on the altar ...
... all the fat on
the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and both kidneys with
the fat on them, and burn them on the altar. Take all the fat ...
... all the fat around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and both kidneys and their fat, and burned it on the altar. Then Moses took all the fat ...
... tail, the fat on the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, both kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh. (This is the ram for ...
... portions of the ox and the ram- the fat tail, the layer of fat, the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver- Then he took the fat of the bull and the ...
... , all the fat around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, both kidneys and their fat and the right thigh. Next Moses took the fat, including the fat ...
... blood, it is covered with fat- the blood of lambs and goats, fat from the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the ...
... and the fat on the belly, and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder. He offered also ...
The formulaic verse “And thou shalt take all of the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is about the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them above the altar” (Exodus. 29:13) is repeated monotonously in the instructions given for the sacrificial offering of bulls, rams, sheep, and calves and restated all over again as Moses installs Aaron as high priest, who then makes the prescribed sacrificial offerings: “And he took the fat, and the rump and all that was upon the inwards and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right shoulder” (Leviticus. 8:16). This may be a custom acquired from the Egyptians. The kidneys and their surrounding fat as funerary offering is documented in a relief (ca. 2700 to 2200 BCE) from the tomb of Tepemānkh. There is a reference to the kidneys as nourishment when in the recounting of God’s loving actions on behalf of Israel, Moses recalls how the Lord found Jacob abandoned and fed him “butter of kin, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape” (Deuteronomy. 32:14).
Because only the best of everything must be offered to God, it is not unexpected that the kidneys and their surrounding fat would be part of the sacrificial offerings, and because it was believed that the Hebrew God did not eat like the statues of human and animal gods of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the offerings were not placed but burned at the altar so that smoke from the burned food would ascend skyward, where the spirit of Yahweh roamed. The blades used for sacrificial slaughtering seem to have been considered blessed and used by God in the slaughter of the enemies of Israel: “The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness and with blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idomea” (Isaiah. 34:6).
Above 2 Paragraphs Source of Info Credits: https://jasn.asnjournals.org/content/16/12/3464#:~:text=Animal%20Kidneys%20as%20Sacrificial%20Offering,be%20burned%20in%20Temple%20offerings.&text=The%20kidneys%20and%20their%20surrounding,documented%20in%20a%20relief%20(ca.
RELATING TO PROPHETIC
STATEMENTS:
... shall kill her
children by Death, and all the assemblies will know that I search the kidneys and
the hearts, and I shall give to everyone of you according to your works. ...
What does it mean that God searches “the reins and hearts” (Rev. 2:23, KJV)?
The Bible associates certain emotional and psychological experiences with body organs. This is not totally foreign to the way we also use the language of emotions. In the English-speaking world the heart is the seat of emotions. We tell our spouses, “I love you with all my heart.” Obviously the reference is not to the physical organ inside our chests. We mean that our love comes from the very depth of our being, and is, therefore, genuine. In the Bible this practice is much more common. I will deal only with the usage of the term “kidneys” (“reins”).
1. A Physical Organ:The Israelites knew about the physical organ known as the kidneys. The kidneys of the sacrificial animals were burnt on the altar of sacrifices, probably because they were usually covered with fat (Ex. 29:13; Lev. 3:4), and the Israelites had been for-bidden to consume the fat of animals. The Jewish thinker Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 B.C-A.D. 45), appears to suggest that the kidneys were offered to God because they purified the blood (Special Laws 1:216). In Babylonian divinatory rituals the kidneys of some animals were used to predict the future. Thus, burning them on the altar was, for the Israelites, a rejection of such pagan practices. Like many other parts of the body, kidneys were used to designate the whole person (a part of the body represented the totality of the body or person). The psalmist writes, “You created my inmost being [kelāyôth, ‘kidneys’]” (139:13),* meaning “my body.” Since the kidneys were located in the innermost part of the human body, it was easy to use them metaphorically to designate the innermost aspects of human personality.
2. Seat of Emotions: The Israelites understood that emotions could not be separated from the physical body. The father tells his son, “My inmost being [kidneys] will rejoice when your lips speak what is right” (Prov. 23:16). In this case, the literal translation was avoided in English in order to indicate that the term “kidneys” is being used metaphorically to indicate that joy is deep and possesses the whole person. Negative emotions were also associated with the kidneys. When the psalmist wrote “my spirit [was] embittered” (Ps. 73:21), he was literally saying, “my kidneys were pierced,” meaning that he was emotionally disturbed and in profound distress. The image is that of a person who has been pierced by an arrow to the kidneys and is in pain, fearing death, emotionally agonizing. In fact, Job describes his emotional distress by using the image of archers shooting arrows at him and piercing his kidneys (16:12, 13; cf. Lam. 3:13). His innermost being was emotionally upset.
3. Seat of Character: According to Jeremiah the people of Israel constantly spoke about God with their lips, but He was “far from their hearts [kidneys]” (12:2), that is to say, God’s message had not transformed their inner being. Here the kidneys are associated with character. In cases like this they become a synonym for the biblical term “heart,” which represents, among other things, the rational, moral qualities of a person. They symbolically refer to human self-awareness or the innermost mind. It could, then, designate the conscience. The psalmist may have had this in mind when he wrote, “Even at night my heart [kidneys] instructs me” (16:7).
4. Object of Divine Analysis: Since the kidneys are associated with character development, it is easy to conclude that God examines them. The phrase you quoted—God searches “the reins and the heart”—is used several times in the Old Testament. It assumes that God sees the innermost being of humans and can make righteous decisions based on that knowledge (Jer. 11:20; 17:10). The psalmist has nothing to hide, so he says to the Lord, “Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart [kidneys] and my mind [lēb, ‘heart’]” (26:2). By examining the kidneys God can identify the wicked and bring to an end their violence (Ps. 7:9). The combination of kidneys and heart in the phrase indicates that God examines the totality of the person.
The use of human organs to refer to human emotions reveals that biblical writers had a wholistic understanding of human nature. The physical body was not detached from the spiritual and emotional sides of the person.
Above Source of Article Credits: https://adventistbiblicalresearch.org/materials/revelation-223/
RELATING TO POETRY AND
SONGS:
... and I was pricked in my reins. And I am troubled; my heart and my kidneys rage against me. When my heart was filled with bitterness and my mind was seized
Proverbs 23:16 Yea, my heart shall rejoice when your lips speak right things. And my kidneys will be glad whenever your lips speak uprightness. My heart rejoices when you speak what is ...
... reins; You have knit me together in my mother's womb. Because you have prepared my kidneys and you have carried me from the womb of my mother. You alone created my inner ...
... also instructs me in the nights. I shall bless Lord Jehovah who counsels me and my kidneys teach me in the nights. I will praise the LORD, who advises me. My ...
... and my heart, Prove me, Lord Jehovah, and test me, and examine my kidneys and my heart. Examine me, O LORD, and test me. Look closely into ...
... the wicked and establish the righteous; God, the Righteous One proves the heart and the kidneys. Let the evil within wicked people come to an end, but make the righteous person ...
In the books of the Bible that follow the Pentateuch, mostly in Jeremiah and Psalms, the human kidneys are cited figuratively or poetically as the site of temperament, emotions, prudence, vigor, and wisdom. In five instances, they are mentioned as the organs examined by God to judge an individual.
... his archers surround me. Without pity, he pierces my kidneys and spills my gall on the ground. and now his archers surround me. His arrows pierce me without mercy. ...
... from his quiver. He shot his arrows deep into my heart. He drove into my kidneys the arrows of his quiver; He pierced my kidneys with His arrows. He made the ...
... lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape. curds from the ...
In the first vernacular versions of the Bible in English, the translators elected to use the term “reins” instead of kidneys in differentiating the metaphoric uses of human kidneys from that of their mention as anatomic organs of sacrificial animals burned at the altar. This initial effort at linguistic purity or gentility has progressed further in recent versions of the Bible, in which the reins are now replaced by the soul or the mind. The erosion may have begun in the centuries that followed the writing of the Bible, when recognition of the kidneys as excretory organs deprived them of the ancient aura of mysterious organs hidden deep in the body but accessible to the look of God.
Scientifically
WHAT DOES THE KING JAMES BIBLE MEAN—“REINS?”
by Shawn Brasseaux
On 15 occasions, the Authorized Version makes
reference to “reins.” Most of these are found in the “Old
Testament.” As a brief introduction, we look at few of a couple of those verses
right now. Psalm 7:9 says: “Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to
an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts
and reins.” And, Jeremiah 20:12: “But, O
LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and
the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my
cause.” What are such “reins?” Why this curious word?
The Hebrew word usually rendered “reins” is
כִּלְיָה,
or kilyah (Strong’s #H3629). Kilyah appears
31 times in the Hebrew Bible. Our 1611 translators translated it as “kidneys” 18
times and “reins” 13 times. (Another Hebrew word—חָלָץ, or chalats [Strong’s #H2504]—is
rendered “reins” in Isaiah 11:5. This gives a total of 14 Old
Testament usages of “reins.”) The word “kidneys” is
generally restricted to the literal, fleshly organs of sacrificial animals
offered in Judaism—Exodus 29:13, Exodus 29:22, Leviticus 3:4, Leviticus 3:10,
Leviticus 3:15, Leviticus 4:9, Leviticus 7:4, Leviticus 8:16, Leviticus 8:25,
Leviticus 9:10, and Leviticus 9:19. There are two figurative usages of “kidneys” in
Deuteronomy 32:14 and Isaiah 34:6. “Reins” in the Greek New
Testament is νεφρός, or nephros, (Strong’s #G3510).
It appears only once—Revelation 2:23.
Now, to the English word. “Reins” is
a form of the Middle English reines, reenes; which was
derived from the Old French reins; which was taken from the
Latin rēnēs meaning “kidneys, loins” (plural). Even
today, modern-day medical terms reflect the Greek, Latin, French, and English
etymologies. Have you ever heard of renal failure—the
kidney(s) malfunctioning? The medical study of kidney diseases is called nephrology—reflecting
the Greek word, of course. Medical science dealing with the function of kidneys
is known as renal physiology. Now
that we know how “kidneys” and “reins” are
connected, how should we handle the King James verses that say God is
interested in seeing and knowing our “reins?” Is God really
concerned with our kidneys?
In ancient times, kidneys (hidden inside our
torso, or loins) were assumed to be the seat of our emotions, feelings, and
affections. “Reins” is related to our literal kidneys.
However, “reins” can also be used figuratively in
reference to our innermost component (again, emotions, feelings, affections;
mind). For the record, Strong’s Concordance has the following
definition for the Hebrew word kilyah (#H3629):
“feminine of H3627 (only in the plural); a kidney (as an essential organ);
figuratively, the mind (as the interior self):—kidneys, reins.” Strong’s defines
the Greek word nephros (#G3510) as: “of uncertain
affinity; a kidney (plural), i.e. (figuratively) the inmost mind:—reins.”
The “reins,” are actually
the mind, rather than the heart (another part of our innermost being), since
some verses (see below) use both “reins” and “heart.” However,
the King James Bible translators are not wrong
in using “reins” to refer to something other than literal
kidneys. They are using the word in a figurative sense
to indicate the mind, as you can now see for yourself.
- Job 16:13: “His archers compass me round about, he
cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he
poureth out my gall upon the ground.”
- Job 19:27: “Whom I shall see for myself, and mine
eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be
consumed within me.”
- Psalm 7:9: “Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come
to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts
and reins.”
- Psalm 16:7: “I will bless the LORD, who hath given me
counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night
seasons.”
- Psalm 26:2: “Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try
my reins and my heart.”
- Psalm 73:21: “Thus my heart was grieved, and I was
pricked in my reins.”
- Psalm 139:13: “For thou hast possessed my reins:
thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.”
- Proverbs 23:16: “Yea, my reins shall
rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.”
- Isaiah 11:5: “And righteousness shall be the girdle
of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.” (Jesus
Christ as He reigns in the Millennium!)
- Jeremiah 11:20: “But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest
righteously, that triest the reins and the heart,
let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause.”
- Jeremiah 12:2: “Thou hast planted them, yea, they
have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in
their mouth, and far from their reins.”
- Jeremiah 17:10: “I the LORD search the heart, I try
the reins, even to give every man according to his
ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”
- Jeremiah 20:12: “But, O LORD of hosts, that triest
the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart,
let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause.”
- Lamentations 3:13: “He hath caused the arrows of his
quiver to enter into my reins.”
- Revelation 2:23: “And I will kill her children with
death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth
the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every
one of you according to your works.”
Source
of Article Information: https://forwhatsaiththescriptures.org/2017/02/26/reins/
Scripturally
In
ancient times, the fat was the very best part of the
animal. The fat would be like filet mignon. To offer this to God was a method
of recognizing that the Lord was the One who deserved the very best; the
highest honor.
The kidneys, in ancient Israel were viewed as
the seat of the emotions and desires. In our culture, the heart serves this
purpose. The kidneys’ location in the body makes them particularly inaccessible;
thus they were a symbol for the most hidden part of a man.
The liver was used by pagan cultures around
the nation of Israel for telling the future. This practice of “reading livers”
was prevalent throughout history from the Assyrians and Babylonians to the
Greeks and Romans. The Bible mentions the custom in Ezekiel 21:21. Burning the
lobe of the liver, then, demonstrated confidence in and dependence on God for
the future rather than on pagan gods.
So when an Israelite celebrated the salvation
he received from God, he gave God the best of the best, he laid down his
emotions and demonstrated trust in God for his future.
SO IN CONCLUSION:
“And thou shalt love Yahweh thy Elohim with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might”. – Deuteronomy 6:5
With reference to the Fats, Kidneys and Liver, Yahweh expects us to also reserve and offer him the best of the best from all of our physical, financial, emotional and personal resources. Just like the kidneys were placed physically deep in the physical anatomy of the human body, so also we have to dig deep and give our best always to Yahweh.
To an Israelite under the Law of Moses, kidneys always made them think of sacrifice. The kidneys and the fat of all animal sacrifices had to be burnt upon the altar. “Then he shall offer from the sacrifice of the peace offering, as an offering made by fire to the Lord, its fat and the whole fat tail … all the fat
that is on the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys … and the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire to the Lord” (Lev 3:9–11 nkjv)
The kidneys were offered in the peace offering, the sin offering and the trespass offering (Lev 3:4,10; 4:9; 7:4). Kidneys also featured in sacrifices for the priests’ sanctification (Exod 29:13,22; Lev 8:16,25; 9:10,19).
Why would the Father especially mark out the kidneys to be offered for so many sacrifices?
Why not the heart or the lungs? The kidneys represent “the deep seated thoughts of one’s inner self. In these references where it is so used in Scripture, it is translated reins (Psa 16:7)” (Martin, 2005, p.17). The word translated reins and kidney in the av is the same Hebrew word, kilyah. The kidneys represent one’s deepest, innermost feelings. When our innermost thoughts are exercised and directed by the Word of God, they are of great value to Him.
“Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom” (Psa 51:6 nkjv). Also “he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God” (Rom 2:29 nkjv).
The spiritual significance and symbology of the kidney is explained in Psalm 26. “The Hebrew word for reins literally means kidneys. General scriptural usage indicates that it relates to the innermost motivation of a man. Whereas the heart (Heb leb) relates to the manifestation of a person’s emotions,
thoughts and inclinations, the ‘reins’ are that part of a man which decides whether those thoughts and inclinations will be for good or evil. So the reins can be tried (Psa 7:9), can instruct (Psa 16:7) and can act as a person’s conscience (‘I was pricked in my reins’, Psa 73:21)” (Mellows, 1992, pp.318–
319).
The kidneys are the most efficient filters in existence. As the kidneys filter out that which is bad and keep that which is good, so a man’s conscience will cause him to choose the good and reject that which is bad. This is exemplified in the Lord Jesus Christ of whom it was prophesied, “Therefore the Lord
Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Curds and honey he shall eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good” (Isa 7:14–15 nkjv).
The kidneys “refuse” or excrete wastes and toxins while “choosing” to retain useful substances in the blood. On a number of occasions we read that the Father tries both our reins and heart. “I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings” (Jer 17:10 kjv).
To please Him, He wants more than just our emotions or heart. He also wants our inner deep thoughts and our conscience which directs and motivates us. “Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith” (1 Tim 1:5 nkjv).
Our kidneys, however, are more than filters of our blood. The kidneys do not operate in isolation; they are wonderful organs that interact with many parts of the body.
Source of Information: https://thelampstand.com.au/the-kidney/