BOWELS (מֵעִים, LXX σπλάγχνα; cf. Heb. רֶ֫חֶם, H8167, womb). The Heb. term mē'îm was used of the bowels in 2 Samuel 20:10; 2 Chronicles 21:15, 18, 19, but elsewhere was found in a wider sense, comparable to the Heb. beten, to denote the place of origin of man (Gen 15:4; Isa 48:19, etc.), the general abdominal area (Num 5:22, etc.), or the ventral region of a fish (Jonah 2:1). Apart from what was construed as the normal physiological action of the major internal organs, the Heb. assigned emotional or, in modern terms, psychosomatic interpretations to their functions. Whereas the heart was regarded as the seat of intelligence, will and purposiveness, the bowels were considered as the locale of the deepest emotions, esp. pity or sympathy (KJV Isa 16:11; 63:15; Jer 4:19; Job 30:27; Song of Solomon 5:4). Although the term referred primarily to the intestines, and is used as such in the RSV, it was employed as a parallel or alternative for the “belly,” “womb,” “liver,” or “heart,” and even occasionally referred to all the internal organs of the body.

In the NT the psychosomatic use was common, as represented by the Gr. word splanchnizomai, “to feel pity,” “be compassionate” (cf. Luke 10:33; Phil 1:8; 1 John 3:17). The KJV rendering “bowels of mercies” (Col 3:12) reflects metaphorical OT usage.