Sinew
What Are Sinews in the Bible?
The Hebrew word gidh is used throughout the Old Testament to denote the tendons, sinews, and connective tissues of the body. These are the fibrous bands that bind muscle to bone, enabling movement and providing structural strength. In the biblical worldview, sinews are a fundamental component of a living, functioning body, often mentioned in contexts highlighting physicality, vulnerability, or restoration.
Sinews in Key Biblical Narratives
One of the most famous references is in the story of Jacob wrestling with God (Genesis 32:22-32). After the mysterious man touches the socket of Jacob's hip, Jacob's hip is wrenched. The text states, "Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the sinew of the hip that is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the hip" (Genesis 32:32). This established a lasting dietary and memorial practice.
In the Book of Job, sinews illustrate both human frailty and creaturely power. Job laments his suffering, describing how his bones ache and his body is in torment (Job 30:17). In contrast, the description of Behemoth (often considered a hippopotamus) highlights its immense strength: "Its tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are close-knit" (Job 40:17).
The prophet Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones provides a powerful theological image involving sinews. Ezekiel sees the bones come together, and "tendons [sinews] and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them" before the breath of life entered them (Ezekiel 37:8). This sequence underscores sinews as a necessary, foundational layer in God's act of physical resurrection and national restoration.
Symbolic and Figurative Uses
Beyond literal anatomy, sinews are used metaphorically. The prophet Isaiah, conveying God's frustration with Israel's stubbornness, declares, "For I knew how stubborn you were; your neck muscles were iron, your forehead was bronze" (Isaiah 48:4). The imagery of an "iron sinew" in the neck symbolizes an unbending, rebellious will resistant to God's direction.
The Prohibition of the Sciatic Nerve
The command stemming from Jacob's injury led to a specific Jewish dietary law: the prohibition against eating the gidh hanasheh (the sciatic nerve). This practice, observed "to this day" as noted in Genesis, serves as a perpetual physical reminder of the pivotal encounter at Peniel, where Jacob contended with God and became Israel. It connects physical sustenance to spiritual memory and identity.
Sinews and the Biblical View of the Body
The consistent mention of sinews alongside bones, flesh, and skin reflects a holistic Hebrew understanding of the human person. The body is a unified, integrated creation. The restoration of sinews in Ezekiel's vision is not an afterthought but a critical step in reconstituting a living being, highlighting that God's redemption is physical as well as spiritual.
Biblical Context
The term 'sinew' (gidh) appears in narrative, poetic, and prophetic books of the Old Testament. Its primary narrative role is in Genesis 32:32, establishing a lasting cultural and dietary practice for Israel. In poetry (Job), it describes both human suffering and animal strength. In prophecy (Ezekiel 37:6-8), sinews are a key component in the vision of national resurrection, representing the restoration of structural integrity to God's people. It also appears in metaphorical critique of stubbornness (Isaiah 48:4).
Theological Significance
Sinews teach about God's creative design for strength and movement within creatures. The story of Jacob highlights how God can touch human strength at its source, transforming identity through an encounter that leaves a permanent, commemorative mark on the body politic of Israel. Most profoundly, in Ezekiel's vision, sinews are part of the divine blueprint for resurrection, signifying that God's restorative power works systematically to rebuild life from nothingness. This prefigures the Christian hope of bodily resurrection. The metaphor of the 'iron sinew' speaks to the spiritual condition of a hardened heart, contrasting human stubbornness with the life-giving connective work God desires to perform.
Historical Background
The ancient Near Eastern context lacked detailed biological terminology; gidh encompassed what we would differentiate as tendons, ligaments, and nerves. The specific prohibition of the sciatic nerve (gidh hanasheh) in Genesis 32:32 became a cornerstone of Jewish dietary law (kashrut), requiring specialized butchering techniques to remove it from the hindquarters of animals. This practice, still observed today, is one of the oldest continuous religious food laws. Extra-biblical texts from the region show an awareness of anatomy for divination (extispicy), but the biblical focus is on sinews as integral to life, strength, and God's covenantal signs.