This simple name of the vital organ becomes quite amazing when we learn what human quality is attributed to it.
Before we go to this surprising quality, it is important to mention that there are at least fifty Hebrew expressions that include the word ‘lev.’ Naturally, there are many English idioms and expressions with the word ‘heart’ as well. Over a hundred of them may be found on most internet dictionaries (what most people use nowadays), but not even one mentions the amazing biblical expression that characterizes a surprising utility of the human heart!
Many of the idioms are common both in Hebrew and English (and in many other languages). You may find the famous ‘lev za•hav’ (‘a heart of gold’); ‘mi•kol ha•lev’ (‘wholeheartedly); ‘lev sha•voor’ (‘broken heart’); ‘cha•sar lev’ (‘heartless’); and many others that focus on emotions and qualities other than the biblical one.
In what part of the human body does wisdom reside?
Most people will probably say: ‘in the brain’ or ‘in the head.’ According to the Hebrew Bible, wisdom is not found there, but rather in the heart.
The Hebrew idiom is ‘choch•mat lev.’
Here is what God gives to the man who has been known to be the wisest of all men of all times:
“Behold, I have done according to your words; lo, I have given you a wise and understanding heart; so that there was none like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you”
“The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips”
“…and in the hearts of all who are wise hearted I have put wisdom…”
If you don’t find the presence of the wisdom in the heart surprising enough, perhaps another biblical positioning of a different attribute will surprise you.
In what organ, according to the Bible, are the ethics and the conscience located? In the kidneys!
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