LEG. This is the tr. in various Eng. VSS of several Heb. words and one Gr. term. In numerous OT passages dealing with sacrificial rituals, the favored word for leg was כְרָעַ֨יִמ׃֙ (Exod 12:9; Lev 1:9, 13 etc.) to describe the shank or splint-bone. It was used of the bending hind legs of locusts which were permitted for food (Lev 11:21) and it formed the basis for an illustration of divine judgment (Amos 3:12). The word רֶ֫גֶל, H8079, which normally means “foot” referred to the legs of Goliath (1 Sam 17:6) apparently because the bronze “greaves” which the giant wore normally protected the leg between the knee and the ankle rather than the foot. If the Heb. מִצְחָה, H5196, actually means some type of boot the tr. of רֶ֫גֶל, H8079, by “leg” obviously would be incorrect. A term used to describe the upper leg both of men and animals was שֹׁ֛וק, and was virtually synonymous with “thigh.” It denoted human legs (Deut 28:35; Ps 147:10; Prov 26:7; Song of Solomon 5:15; Isa 47:2 and Dan 2:33); it also was tr. “hip” (Judg 15:8). It was commonly used with reference to sacrificial animals (cf. Exod 29:22; Lev 7:32, 33; 1 Sam 9:24, etc.). In the KJV VS of several ritual sections it was tr. “shoulder” (cf. Exod 29:22; Lev 7:32-34, etc.). The narrow part of the thigh was considered one of the choicest pieces of the sacrificial animal, and was reserved for the use of the priests. Animal bones from the upper portion of the right foreleg have been recovered from the debris of a Canaanite temple at Lachish, destroyed c. 1220 b.c. by the invading Hebrews when apparently in use as a sanctuary. These bones evidently comprised the re mains of the priestly perquisites, suggesting that the rest of the sacrifice had been eaten by the worshipers outside the sanctuary or in some adjoining room. There was little to indicate that the bones had been burned, and presumably the meat had been cooked by boiling (cf. 1 Sam 2:15). This evidence provides an authentic historical background for the ritual prescriptions (Lev 7:32, etc.).

Because of an inadequate understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the human brain and spinal cord the Hebrews and other oriental peoples tended to assign emotional qualities to specific organs of the body. Thus the heart was widely regarded as the seat of will, intelligence, and purposiveness; the kidneys were associated with passion, pain, and pleasure (cf. Ps 37:4; Prov 23:16); the intestines with compassion (cf. Gen 43:30; Jer 31:20; 1 John 3:17), and the liver with dullness, depression, and the like (Lam 2:11). In the same manner the legs were associated with individual physique, so that a person with firm, healthy legs was believed to be strong in character. The strength of a horse was paralleled with the legs of a man (Ps 147:10), following this pattern of thought. In the NT the word σκέλος, G5003, occurred only in John 19:31-33, and denoted the entire limb from the hip downward. Fracturing the legs of the crucified was a popular means of hastening the decease of the victim, generally through cerebral or cardiac embolism.