The “Innards” in the Psalms and Job as Metaphors for Illness

Abstract

This article explores body and illness metaphors in the Psalms and Job. Specifically, it focuses on the various terms pertaining to the “innards” or “internal organs” of the human body. Although myriad terms for internal organs exist, the terms קֶרֶב and מֵעֶה are the particular focus of this article. Interestingly, a link between discourse and digestion emerges in the metaphors from both Job and the Psalms. However, in Job a language for pain emerges which is disturbing and anthropomorphic, regularly depicting an attacking deity. In contrast, in the examples from the Psalms, tend to make a clearer distinction between the righteous and the wicked. In both cases, however, the body and metaphors connected to it are tightly bound up with what is social. The body is portrayed as an ever-interpreted entity and the actions and reactions of the community are all-important.