Job 30:27
My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me.
Original Language Analysis
מֵעַ֖י
My bowels
H4578
מֵעַ֖י
My bowels
Strong's:
H4578
Word #:
1 of 7
used only in plural the intestines, or (collectively) the abdomen, figuratively, sympathy; by implication, a vest; by extension the stomach, the uteru
וְלֹא
H3808
וְלֹא
Strong's:
H3808
Word #:
3 of 7
not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles
דָ֗מּוּ
and rested
H1826
דָ֗מּוּ
and rested
Strong's:
H1826
Word #:
4 of 7
to be dumb; by implication, to be astonished, to stop; also to perish
קִדְּמֻ֥נִי
prevented
H6923
קִדְּמֻ֥נִי
prevented
Strong's:
H6923
Word #:
5 of 7
to project (one self), i.e., precede; hence, to anticipate, hasten, meet (usually for help)
Historical Context
Ancient Israelite psychology was holistic, not dualistic. Emotions resided in physical organs: heart (thought/will), kidneys (conscience), bowels (compassion/anguish). "Boiling bowels" wasn't metaphor but literal physiological experience of grief. Modern psychology recognizes psychosomatic suffering. Job's description predates but validates embodied cognition—emotions and body are inseparable.
Questions for Reflection
- How does recognizing the physical reality of emotional suffering affect pastoral care?
- What does Job's holistic suffering teach about the nature of human personhood?
- How does Christ's bodily suffering (Isaiah 53:3-5) sanctify our physical pain?
Analysis & Commentary
My bowels boiled, and rested not (מֵעַי רֻתְּחוּ וְלֹא־דָמּוּ, me'ay rutachu velo-dammu)—The noun me'im (מֵעִים, bowels/intestines) represents the seat of emotions in Hebrew anthropology. The verb ratach (רָתַח) means "to boil, seethe" (Ezekiel 24:5), conveying intense inner turmoil. The negative lo dammu ("did not rest") uses damah (דָּמָה, to be still, silent). Job experiences relentless internal anguish. The phrase the days of affliction prevented me (קִדְּמֻנִי יְמֵי־עֹנִי) uses qadam (קָדַם, "to come before, meet, confront"). Suffering arrived before Job could prepare.
This visceral language captures embodied suffering—not merely mental anguish but physical manifestation of grief. Lamentations 2:11 uses similar imagery: "my liver is poured upon the earth." Job's suffering is total: spiritual, emotional, physical. This anticipates Christ's Gethsemane: "My soul is exceeding sorrowful" (Mark 14:34), and His cry of dereliction. The Incarnation means God knows suffering from within, not merely as external observer.