Bible Encyclopedias
Inward Part

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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," Psalm 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.