Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 163:649 (Jan 2006)
Article: The Biblical Imagery of Feet as a Vehicle for Truth
Author: Richard D. Patterson

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The Biblical Imagery of Feet as a Vehicle for Truth

Richard D. Patterson

Richard D. Patterson is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Semitics and Old Testament, Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia.

Figurative speech plays a large role in many languages. Zuck defines figurative speech as “a picturesque, out-of-the-ordinary way of presenting literal facts that might otherwise be stated in a normal, plain, ordinary way.”1 Classical literary theory divides figurative speech into the two categories of rhetorical figures and tropes. In the former, words are used in nontraditional ways to achieve unexpected effects, and the latter involves figures in which one reality is compared with another (e.g., metaphor and simile).2 It is commonly maintained that rhetorical figures, such as idioms, do not effect a change of meaning in the words of the figure, but in a trope the comparison provides an advance in a word’s meaning. Thus to say that someone is a fox is a trope that suggests that he is as crafty or sly as the fabled fox.

This distinction between rhetorical figures and tropes may not be quite as rigid as customarily held, however. In a common idiom a parent who pays for his child’s education is said to “foot the bill.” Although the individual words retain their normal dictionary meanings, the combination of words does effect an advance in meaning. Thus Zuck rightly points out, “An idiom is a combination of words that have a meaning as a whole, but in which the meaning of the combination is not the same as the meaning of the individual words.”3 In effect the idiom enjoys a sort of synthesis with tropes

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that might be termed “virtual metaphor.” Instances of overlap will become apparent in the study that follows.

People frequently use figurative expressions that utilize body parts. For example, if something is “at hand,” it is close by or near. To “have one’s hands full” indicates that a person is extremely busy. If a person is told, “Keep your eyes open,” he is to be watchful for something or someone. To “keep an eye on” someone is to watch or look after him or her. If someone says he will “play it by ear,” he implies that he has no preconceived plan and will improvise in accord with the situation. To say that one is “all ears” is to suggest eagerness to hear or listen attentively. If someone wants to “get something into another person’s head,” he hopes to make that person understand. Combining head with foot can sig...