'Feet' in the Bible

Please let a little water be brought [by one of my servants] and [you may] wash your feet, and recline and rest comfortably under the tree.

And he said, “See here, my lords, please turn aside and come into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may get up early and go on your way.” But they said, “No, we shall spend the night in the open plaza [of the city].”

So the man came into the house, and Laban unloaded his camels and gave them straw and feed, and [he gave] water to [Eliezer to] wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.

Then the steward brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water, and they washed [the dust off] their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed.

“The scepter [of royalty] shall not depart from Judah,Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,Until Shiloh [the Messiah, the Peaceful One] comes,And to Him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

When Jacob (Israel) had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people [who had preceded him in death].

Then God said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet [out of respect], because the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

Then Zipporah took a flint knife and cut off the foreskin of her son and threw it at Moses’ feet, and said, “Indeed you are a husband of blood to me!”

Now you are to eat it in this manner: [be prepared for a journey] with your loins girded [that is, with the outer garment tucked into the band], your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; you shall eat it quickly—it is the Lord’s Passover.

and they saw [a manifestation of] the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, just as clear as the sky itself.

Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ears of Aaron and his sons and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet, and sprinkle the [rest of the] blood around on the altar [of burnt offering].

Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet.

They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they will not die; it shall be a perpetual statute for them, for Aaron and his descendants throughout their generations.”

Then from it Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet.

He also brought Aaron’s sons forward and put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears, and the thumbs of their right hands, and the big toes of their right feet; and Moses sprinkled the rest of the blood around on the altar.

yet of all winged insects that walk on all fours you may eat those which have legs above their feet with which to leap on the ground.

But all other winged insects which are four footed are detestable to you.

Whatever crawls on its belly, and whatever walks on all fours, and whatever has many feet among all things that swarm on the ground, you shall not eat; for they are detestable.

Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your feet swell these forty years.

I have led you in the wilderness forty years; your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet.

When the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, [come to] rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing down from above will be cut off, and they will stand in one mass [of water].”

and when those who were carrying the ark came up to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were submerged at the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all of its banks throughout the time of harvest),

and command them, ‘Pick up for yourselves twelve stones [one each] from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm; carry them over with you and lay them down at the place where you will spend the night tonight.’”

Then Joshua set up [a second monument of] twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day.

When the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come up from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of their feet were raised up to the dry land, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and flowed over all its banks as before.

The captain of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy (set apart to the Lord).” And Joshua did so.

and worn-out and patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes; and all their supply of food was dry and had turned to crumbs.

When they brought these kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and told the commanders of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come up close, put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came forward and put their feet on the necks [of the five kings].

So Moses swore [an oath to me] on that day, saying, ‘Be assured that the land on which your foot has walked will be an inheritance to you and to your children always, because you have followed the Lord my God completely.’

“He bowed, he fell, he lay [still] at her feet;At her feet he bowed, he fell;Where he bowed, there he fell dead.

So he brought him into his house and fed the donkeys; and they washed their feet and ate and drank.

When he lies down, notice the place where he is lying, and go and uncover his feet and lie down. Then he will tell you what to do.”

When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was happy, he went to lie down at the end of the stack of grain. Then Ruth came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down.

In the middle of the night the man was startled and he turned over, and found a woman lying at his feet.

So she lay at his feet until the morning, but got up before anyone could recognize another; Boaz said, “Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor [last night].”

“He guards the feet of His godly (faithful) ones,But the wicked ones are silenced and perish in darkness;For a man shall not prevail by might.

Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, his armor bearer following after him. The enemy fell before Jonathan [in combat], and his armor bearer killed some of them after him.

Then a champion came out from the camp of the Philistines named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

Kneeling at his feet she said, “My lord, let the blame and guilt be on me alone. And please let your maidservant speak to you, and listen to the words of your maidservant.

And she stood and bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your maidservant is [ready to be] a maid to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.”

“Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put in fetters;As a man falls before the wicked, so you have fallen.”And all the people wept again over him.

Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son whose feet were crippled. He was five years old when the news [of the deaths] of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. And the boy’s nurse picked him up and fled; but it happened that while she was hurrying to flee, he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.

So David commanded his young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hung them beside the pool in Hebron. But they took Ish-bosheth’s head and buried it in Hebron in the tomb of Abner [his relative].

And the king said, “Is there no longer anyone left of the house (family) of Saul to whom I may show the goodness and graciousness of God?” Ziba replied to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan, [one] whose feet are crippled.”

So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king’s table. And he was lame in both feet. Cross references: 2 Samuel 9:3 : 1 Sam 20:14-17 end of crossrefs

Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and wash your feet (spend time at home).” Uriah left the king’s palace, and a gift from the king was sent out after him.

Then Mephibosheth the [grand]son of Saul came down to meet the king, but he had not cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned in peace and safety.

“He bowed the heavens also, and came downWith thick darkness under His feet.

“He makes my feet like the doe’s feet [firm and swift];He sets me [secure and confident] on my high places.

“You enlarge my steps under me,And my feet have not slipped.

“I consumed them and shattered them, so that they did not rise;They fell under my feet.

Now you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah [my sister] did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and to Amasa the son of Jether, [both of] whom he murdered; avenging the blood of war in [a time of] peace. And he put the [innocent] blood of war [of Abner and Amasa] on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals on his feet.

“You know that David my father could not build a house (temple) for the Name (Presence) of the Lord his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.

So when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in the doorway, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another woman? For I have been sent to you [by God] with a harsh message.

Now as for you (Jeroboam’s wife), arise, go to your own house. When your feet enter the city, the child [Abijah] will die.

Now as for the rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, everything that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But during the time of his old age he had a foot disease.

Ben-hadad sent word to him and said, “May the gods do so to me, and more also, if there is enough dust left of Samaria for handfuls for all the [armed] people who follow me.”

When she came to the mountain to the man of God, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi approached to push her away; but the man of God said, “Let her alone, for her soul is desperate and troubled within her; and the Lord has hidden the reason from me and has not told me.”

She came and fell at his feet, bowing herself to the ground [in respect and gratitude]. Then she picked up her son and left.

Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man ahead of him [to behead Elisha]; but before the messenger arrived, Elisha told the elders, “Do you see how this son of [Jezebel] a murderer has sent [a man] to remove my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it securely against him. Is not the sound of his master’s feet [just] behind him?”

They went to bury her, but they found nothing left of her except the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands.

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.

“I dug wells and drank foreign waters,And with the sole of my feet I dried upAll the rivers of [the Lower Nile of] Egypt.”

And I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will be careful to act in accordance with everything that I have commanded them, and with all the law that My servant Moses commanded them.”

They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him [hand and foot] with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.

Then David the king rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brothers [in arms] and my people. I had intended to build a permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and as a footstool for our God, and I prepared materials for the building.

The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. The cherubim stood on their feet, their faces toward the Holy Place (the main room).

In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa developed a disease in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his illness he did not seek the Lord, but [relied only on] the physicians.

“Indeed, for forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing,Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell.

Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a gallows fifty cubits high made, and in the morning ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it; then go joyfully to the banquet with the king.” And the advice pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made.

Then Esther spoke again to the king and fell down at his feet and wept and implored him to avert the evil plot of Haman the Agagite and his plan which he had devised against the Jews [because the decree to annihilate the Jews was still in effect].

“He who is at ease has contempt for misfortune,But misfortune is ready [and anxiously waiting] for those whose feet slip.

“You also put my feet in the stocks [as punishment]And [critically] observe all my paths;You set a circle and limit around the soles of my feet [which I must not overstep],

“For the wicked is thrown into a net by his own feet (wickedness),And he steps on the webbing [of the lattice-covered pit].

“I was eyes to the blindAnd I was feet to the lame.

“On my right the [rabble] brood rises;They push my feet away, and they build up their ways of destruction against me [like an advancing army].

‘He puts my feet in the stocks [to hinder and humiliate me];He [suspiciously] watches all my paths,’ [you say].

You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;You have put all things under his feet,

My steps have held closely to Your paths;My feet have not staggered.

He bowed the heavens also and came down;And thick darkness was under His feet.

He makes my feet like hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly and tread safely on paths of testing and trouble];He sets me [securely] upon my high places.

You enlarge the path beneath me and make my steps secure,So that my feet will not slip.

I shattered them so that they were not able to rise;They fell [wounded] under my feet.

For [a pack of] dogs have surrounded me;A gang of evildoers has encircled me,They pierced my hands and my feet.

My eyes are continually toward the Lord,For He will bring my feet out of the net.

And You have not given me into the hand of the enemy;You have set my feet in a broad place.

He brought me up out of a horrible pit [of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay,And He set my feet upon a rock, steadying my footsteps and establishing my path.

He subdues peoples under usAnd nations under our feet.

For You have rescued my soul from death,Yes, and my feet from stumbling,So that I may walk before GodIn the light of life.

The [unyieldingly] righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance [of God];He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

Who keeps us among the living,And does not allow our feet to slip or stumble.

But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling,My steps had almost slipped.

Turn your footsteps [quickly] toward the perpetual ruins;The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary.

His feet they hurt with shackles;He was put in chains of iron,

They have hands, but they cannot feel;They have feet, but they cannot walk;Nor can they make a sound with their throats.

For You have rescued my life from death,My eyes from tears,And my feet from stumbling and falling.

I considered my waysAnd turned my feet to [follow and obey] Your testimonies.

I have restrained my feet from every evil way,That I may keep Your word.

Nun.Your word is a lamp to my feetAnd a light to my path.

Our feet are standingWithin your gates, O Jerusalem,