'Flesh' in the Bible

So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and while he slept, He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.

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.”

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive and remain with man forever, because he is indeed flesh [sinful, corrupt—given over to sensual appetites]; nevertheless his days shall yet be a hundred and twenty years.”

God said to Noah, “I intend to make an end of all that lives, for through men the land is filled with violence; and behold, I am about to destroy them together with the land.

For behold, I, even I, will bring a flood of waters on the earth, to destroy all life under the heavens in which there is the breath and spirit of life; everything that is on the land shall die.

And of every living thing [found on land], you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.

So they went into the ark with Noah, two by two of all living beings in which there was the breath and spirit of life.

Those which entered, male and female of all flesh (creatures), entered as God had commanded Noah; and the Lord closed the door behind him.

All living beings that moved on the earth perished—birds and cattle (domestic animals), [wild] animals, all things that swarm and crawl on the earth, and all mankind.

Bring out with you every living thing from all flesh—birds and animals and every crawling thing that crawls on the earth—that they may breed abundantly on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”

But you shall not eat meat along with its life, that is, its blood.

I will establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the water of a flood, nor shall there ever again be a flood to destroy and ruin the earth.”

and I will [compassionately] remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again will the water become a flood to destroy all flesh.

When the rainbow is in the clouds and I look at it, I will [solemnly] remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

And God said to Noah, “This [rainbow] is the sign of the covenant (solemn pledge, binding agreement) which I have established between Me and all living things on the earth.”

And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be the sign (symbol, memorial) of the covenant between Me and you.

A servant who is born in your house or one who is purchased with your money must be circumcised; and [the sign of] My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

Then Laban said to him, “You are my bone and my flesh.” And Jacob stayed with him a month.

Come, let us [instead] sell him to these Ishmaelites [and Midianites] and not lay our hands on him, because he is our brother and our flesh.” So his brothers listened to him and agreed.

within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and will hang you on a tree (gallows, pole), and [you will not so much as be given a burial, but] the birds will eat your flesh.”

Then God said, “Put your hand into your robe again.” So he put his hand back into his robe, and when he took it out, it was restored [and was] like the rest of his body.

They shall eat the meat that same night, roasted in fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

It is to be eaten inside one house; you shall not take any of the meat outside the house, nor shall you break any of its bones.

Moses said, “This will happen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning [enough] bread to be fully satisfied, because the Lord has heard your murmurings against Him; for what are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.”

“If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned and its meat shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be cleared [of responsibility].

“You shall be holy men to Me; therefore you shall not eat meat [from any animal] that has been torn to pieces [by predators] in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

You shall make for them [white] linen undergarments to cover their bare flesh, reaching from the waist to the thighs.

But the meat of the bull, its hide, and the contents of its intestines you shall burn in the fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.

“You shall take the ram of the ordination and boil its meat in a holy place.

Aaron and his sons shall eat the meat of the ram and the bread in the basket, at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting.

And if any of the meat of ordination or the bread remains until morning, you shall burn it in the fire; it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

But the hide of the bull and all its meat, with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its refuse,

Whatever touches its meat will become consecrated (ceremonially clean). When any of its blood splashes on a garment, you shall wash what was splashed on in a holy place.

‘The meat of the sacrifice of thanksgiving presented as a peace offering shall be eaten on the day that it is offered; none of it shall be left until morning.

but what is left over from the meat of the sacrifice on the third day shall be [completely] burned in the fire.

If any of the meat of the sacrifice of his peace offerings is ever eaten on the third day, then it will not be accepted, and the one who brought it will not be credited with it. It shall be an abhorred (offensive) thing; the one who eats it shall bear his own guilt.

‘The meat that comes in contact with anything that is unclean shall not be eaten; it shall be burned in the fire. As for other meat, everyone who is [ceremonially] clean may eat it.

But the one who eats meat from the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to the Lord, in his uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].

When anyone touches any unclean thing—human uncleanness, or an unclean animal, or any unclean detestable thing—and then eats the meat of the sacrifice of the Lord’s peace offerings, that person shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].’”

But the bull (the sin offering) and its hide, its meat, and its refuse he burned in the fire outside the camp, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, “Boil the meat at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting and eat it there together with the bread that is in the basket of the consecration (ordination) offering, just as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’

And what remains of the meat and of the bread you shall burn in the fire.

And Aaron burned the meat and the hide in the fire outside the camp.

Behold, its blood was not brought into the Holy Place; you certainly should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary, just as I commanded.”

You shall not eat their meat nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.

They shall be hated things to you. You may not eat their meat; you shall detest their carcasses.

The priest shall examine him, and if there is a white swelling on the skin and it has turned the hair white and there is new raw flesh in the swelling,

But whenever raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean.

The priest shall examine the raw flesh, and he shall pronounce him unclean; the raw flesh is unclean, it is leprosy.

But if the raw flesh turns again and is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest,

“Or if the body has on its skin a burn from fire and the new flesh of the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish white or white,

Also whoever touches the man with the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.

The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place (Holy of Holies), shall be taken outside the camp; their skins, their meat, and their waste shall be burned in the fire.

“For in regard to the life of all flesh, its blood is [the same] as its life; therefore I said to the Israelites, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off [excluding him from the atonement made for them].’

You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; their nakedness you shall not uncover, for they are your own nakedness [that is, your own descendants].

You shall not make any cuts on your body [in mourning] for the dead, nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves; I am the Lord.

The priests shall not shave their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts in their body.

You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.

This is what you shall do to them to [ceremonially] cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purification on them, and let them use a razor over their whole body and wash their clothes, and they will be clean.

But they fell on their faces [before the Lord], and said, “O God, God of the spirits of all flesh! When one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”

Every firstborn of the womb of all flesh, whether it is man or animal, which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours; nevertheless, the firstborn of man you shall most certainly redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.

Their meat shall be yours, like the breast of a wave offering and like the right thigh.

Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; its skin, its flesh, its blood, and its waste, shall be burned (reduced to ash).

“Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation

For who is there of all flesh (mankind) who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?

“However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your [city] gates, whatever you wish, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you [as His generous provision for daily life]. The [ceremonially] unclean and the clean may eat it, such as the gazelle and the deer.

“When the Lord your God extends your territory, as He promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because you want to eat meat, then you may eat meat, whatever you wish.

Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life (soul), and you shall not eat the life with the meat.

And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the meat and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, and you shall eat the meat.

The swine, because it has a divided hoof but does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You shall not eat their meat nor touch their carcasses.

For seven days no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory, and none of the meat which you sacrificed the evening of the first day shall remain overnight until morning.

Then you will eat the offspring of your own body [to avoid starvation], the flesh of your sons and daughters whom the Lord your God has given you, during the siege and the misery by which your enemy will oppress you.

so that he will not give even one of them any of the flesh of his children which he will eat, because he has nothing else left, during the siege and the misery by which your enemy will oppress you in all your cities.

‘I will make My arrows drunk with blood,And My sword will devour flesh,With the blood of the slain and the captives,From the heads of the leaders of the enemy.’

Gideon said, “For that [response], when the Lord has handed over Zebah and Zalmunna to me, I will thrash your bodies with the thorns and briars of the wilderness.”

“Speak now in the hearing of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that seventy men, all of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one man rule over you?’ Also, remember that I am your own bone and flesh.”

and the custom of the priests with [the sacrifices of] the people. When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged [meat] fork in his hand;

The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.”

Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.

You are my brothers (relatives, relations); you are my bone and my flesh. Why then are you the last to bring back the king?’

Say to Amasa [the commander of Absalom’s troops], ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? May God do so to me, and more also, if you will not be commander of my army from now on in place of Joab.’”

And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he would drink from the brook.

So Elisha left him and went back. Then he took a pair of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their meat with the implements of the oxen [as fuel], and gave the meat to the people, and they ate. Then he stood and followed Elijah, and served him.

Now when Ahab heard these words [of Elijah], he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly (mourning).

Then he went up and lay on the child and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself out on him and held him, the boy’s skin became warm.

Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.”

So he went down and plunged himself into the Jordan seven times, just as the man of God had said; and his flesh was restored like that of a little child and he was clean.

When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his clothes—now he was still walking along on the wall—and the people looked [at him], and he had on sackcloth underneath [his royal robe] next to his skin.

So they returned and told Jehu. Then he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which He spoke through His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘In the property of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel.

Then all Israel gathered to David at Hebron, saying, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.

With him there is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Now our flesh (skin) is the same as that of our brothers (relatives), and our children are like their children, yet here we are forcing (selling) our sons and our daughters to be slaves; and some of our daughters are forced into bondage already, and we are powerless [to redeem them] because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

But put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh [and severely afflict him]; and he will curse You to Your face.”

“Then a spirit passed before my face;The hair on my skin stood on end!

“Is my strength and endurance that of stones,Or is my flesh made of bronze?

“My body is clothed with worms and a crust of dust;My skin is hardened [and broken and loathsome], and [breaks out and] runs.

‘Do You have eyes of flesh?Do You see as a man sees?

‘[You have] clothed me with skin and flesh,And knit me together with bones and sinews.

“Why should I take my flesh in my teethAnd put my life in my hands [incurring the wrath of God]?