'Bones' in the Bible
Then Adam said,“This is now bone of my bones,And flesh of my flesh;She shall be called Woman,Because she was taken out of Man.”
Lo, seven other cows came up after them, very ugly and gaunt [just skin and bones]; such emaciated animals as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt.
Then Joseph made the sons of Israel (Jacob) swear [an oath], saying, “God will surely visit you and take care of you [returning you to Canaan], and [when that happens] you shall carry my bones up from here.”
You shall let none of the meat remain until the morning, and anything that remains left over until morning, you shall burn completely in the fire.
Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had solemnly ordered (placed under an oath) the Israelites, saying, “God will assuredly take care of you, and you must carry my bones away from here with you.”
“God brought Israel out of Egypt;Israel has strength like the wild ox;He will devour [Gentile] nations, his adversaries (enemies),And will crush their bones in pieces,And shatter them with his arrows.
Now they buried the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the plot of land which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money; and it became the inheritance of the sons of Joseph.
They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted [as a sign of mourning and respect] for seven days.
Then David went and took the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the open square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them on the day when the Philistines had killed Saul in Gilboa.
He brought up the bones of Saul and of Jonathan his son from there, and they gathered the bones of those who had been hanged [with their arms and legs broken].
They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father; and they did all that the king commanded. After that, God was moved by prayer for the land.
The man cried out against the [idolatrous] altar by the word of the Lord, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you shall he sacrifice [the bodies of] the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’”
Then after he had buried him, he said to his sons, “When I am dead, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.
And it happened that as a man was being buried [on an open bier], they saw a marauding band [coming]; and they threw the man into Elisha’s grave. But when the [body of the] man [was being let down and] touched the bones of Elisha he revived and stood up on his feet.
He broke in pieces the sacred pillars (cultic memorial stones, images) and cut down the Asherim and replaced them with human bones [to desecrate the places forever].
And as Josiah turned, he saw the graves that were there on the mountain, and he sent men and had the bones taken from the graves, and burned them on the altar and [thereby] desecrated it, in accordance with the word of the Lord which the man of God prophesied, who proclaimed these things [about this altar, naming Josiah before he was born].
He said, “Let him alone; let no one disturb his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed, with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.
All the priests of the high places who were there he slaughtered on the altars, and burned human bones on them [to desecrate the places forever]. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
all the brave men arose, took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons and brought them to Jabesh, and they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh; then they fasted seven days.
Then Josiah burned the bones of the [pagan] priests on their altars and purged and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.
Dread and trembling came upon me,Which made all my bones shake.
So that I would choose suffocation,Death rather than my pain.
‘[You have] clothed me with skin and flesh,And knit me together with bones and sinews.
“His bones are full of youthful strengthBut it lies down with him in the dust.
His pails are full of milk [his sides are filled out with fat],And the marrow of his bones is moist,
“My bones are pierced [with aching] in the night season,And the pains that gnaw me take no rest.
“My skin falls from me in blackened flakes,And my bones are burned with fever.
“Man is also disciplined with pain on his bed,And with unceasing complaint in his bones,
“His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen,And his bones which were not seen now stick out.
“His bones are tubes of bronze;His limbs are like bars of iron.
Have mercy on me and be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am weak (faint, frail);Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed and anguished.
I am poured out like water,And all my bones are out of joint.My heart is like wax;It is melted [by anguish] within me.
For my life is spent with sorrowAnd my years with sighing;My strength has failed because of my iniquity,And even my body has wasted away.
When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted awayThrough my groaning all the day long.
All my bones will say, “Lord, who is like You,Who rescues the afflicted from him who is too strong for him [to resist alone],And the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”
There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation;There is no health in my bones because of my sin.
As a crushing of my bones [with a sword], my adversaries taunt me,While they say continually to me, “Where is your God?”
Make me hear joy and gladness and be satisfied;Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
There they were, in great terror and dread, where there had been no terror or dread;For God scattered the bones of him who besieged you;You have put them to shame, because God has rejected them.
For my days have vanished in smoke,And my bones have been scorched like a hearth.
Because of the sound of my groaning [in suffering and trouble]My bones cling to my flesh.
He clothed himself with cursing as with his garment,And it seeped into his inner self like waterAnd like [anointing] oil into his bones.
As when the one plows and breaks open the ground [and the soil scatters behind him],Our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol [by the injustices of the wicked].
It will be health to your body [your marrow, your nerves, your sinews, your muscles—all your inner parts]And refreshment (physical well-being) to your bones.
A virtuous and excellent wife [worthy of honor] is the crown of her husband,But she who shames him [with her foolishness] is like rottenness in his bones.
A calm and peaceful and tranquil heart is life and health to the body,But passion and envy are like rottenness to the bones.
The light of the eyes rejoices the hearts of others,And good news puts fat on the bones.
A happy heart is good medicine and a joyful mind causes healing,But a broken spirit dries up the bones.
Just as you do not know the way and path of the wind or how the bones are formed in the womb of a pregnant woman, even so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.
“I lay down until morning.Like a lion, so He breaks all my bones;From day until night You bring me to an end.
“And the Lord will continually guide you,And satisfy your soul in scorched and dry places,And give strength to your bones;And you will be like a watered garden,And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
When you see this, your heart will rejoice;Your bones will flourish like new grass.And the [powerful] hand of the Lord will be revealed to His servants,But His indignation will be toward His enemies.
“At that time,” says the Lord, “they [the Babylonian army] will bring out from their graves the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its princes, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
If I say, “I will not remember HimOr speak His name anymore,”Then my heart becomes a burning fireShut up in my bones.And I am weary of enduring and holding it in;I cannot endure it [nor contain it any longer].
Concerning the prophets:My heart [says Jeremiah] is broken within me,All my bones shake;I have become like a drunken man,A man whom wine has overcome,Because of the LordAnd because of His holy words [declared against unfaithful leaders].
Israel is a hunted and scattered flock [driven here and there as prey]; the lions have chased them away. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken (gnawed) his bones.
“From on high He sent fire into my bones,And it prevailed over them.He has spread a net for my feet;He has turned me back.He has made me desolate and hopelessly miserable,Faint all the day long.
He has caused my flesh and my skin to waste away;He has shattered my bones.
Their appearance is [now] blacker than soot [because of the prolonged famine];They are not recognized in the streets;Their skin clings to their bones;It is withered, and it has become [dry] like wood.
I will also lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel in front of their [Canaanite] idols; and I will scatter your bones all around your altars.
“Put in it the pieces [of meat],Every good piece (the people of Jerusalem), the thigh and the shoulder;Fill it with choice bones.
“Take the choicest of the flock,And also pile wood under the pot.Make it boil vigorouslyAnd boil its bones in the pot.”
“Heap on wood, kindle the fire,Boil the meat well [done]And mix in the spices,And let the bones be burned.
Nor do they lie beside the fallen heroes of the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid [with honors] under their heads. The punishment for their sins rested on their bones, for the terror of these heroes was once in the land of the living.
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones.
He caused me to pass all around them, and behold, there were very many [human bones] in the open valley; and lo, they were very dry.
And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”
Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’
Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will make breath enter you so that you may come to life.
I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and I will put breath in you so that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’”
So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a [thundering] noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on the bones, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them.
So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood up on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is lost. We are completely cut off.’
The king then gave a command, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions, they, their children and their wives; and before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
Thus says the Lord,“For three transgressions of Moab and for four (multiplied delinquencies)I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom [Esau’s descendant] into lime [and used it to plaster a Moabite house].
Then one’s uncle, or his undertaker, shall come to bring the [disease-infected] body out of the house, [to cremate it], and he will say to another in the farthest part of the house, “Is there anyone else with you?” And that one will say, “No one.” Then he will respond, “Hush! Keep quiet! For the name of the Lord is not to be mentioned [even casually, for fear that we might invoke even more punishment].”
“You who hate good and love evil,Who tear the skin off my peopleAnd their flesh from their bones;
You who eat the flesh of my people,Strip off their skin from them,Break their bonesAnd chop them in pieces as for the pot,Like meat in a kettle.”
I heard and my whole inner self trembled;My lips quivered at the sound.Decay and rottenness enter my bones,And I tremble in my place.Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress,For the people to arise who will invade and attack us.
Her officials within her are roaring lions;Her judges are [as hungry as] the wolves at evening,They leave nothing for the morning.