StrongerBible

bohen

בֹּהֶן

HebrewH0931thumb, great toe, ...

Appears 16 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Exo 29:20 (2×)Lev 8:23 (2×)Lev 8:24 (2×)Lev 14:14 (2×)Lev 14:17 (2×)Lev 14:25 (2×)Jdg 1:6Jdg 1:7
Root family
Word studyBOH-hennoun

What bohen means

the thumb or big toe: the largest digit of the hand or the foot

TranslatabilityPartialCertaintySettled

Hebrew uses this one word for the single body part English has to name two different ways. On the hand it is the thumb; on the foot it is the big toe (the great toe). The word itself does not choose between them: it points to the thick first digit of a limb, and the text tells you which limb by adding "of the hand" or "of the foot."

Almost every time the word appears, it is part of a fixed ritual gesture. When priests were ordained, and when a person recovering from a serious skin disease was declared clean, blood and oil were dabbed on three points of the body: the right earlobe, the thumb of the right hand, and the big toe of the right foot. Touching the far edges of the body (ear, hand, foot) stood for setting apart the whole person, from head to foot, for God.

The one grim exception is the story of a defeated king whose thumbs and big toes were cut off. Removing exactly those digits crippled a warrior's grip and stride, so the mutilation was a deliberate way of ending his power to fight or rule.

A broader word, אֶצְבַּע, covers any finger or toe; this word singles out the biggest one.

Exo 29:20 (2×)Lev 8:23 (2×)Lev 8:24 (2×)Lev 14:14 (2×)Lev 14:17 (2×)Lev 14:25 (2×)Lev 14:28Jdg 1:6Jdg 1:7

What scholars say about bohen

Standard lexica (BDB; HALOT) treat the term as a single feminine noun glossed "thumb, great toe," the pollex of the hand or the hallux of the foot, disambiguated in context by a following genitive (יָד "hand" or רֶגֶל "foot"). The overwhelming distribution is cultic: the ordination ritual of Exodus 29 and Leviticus 8, and the purification of the recovered person with a skin affliction in Leviticus 14, apply blood and oil to ear, thumb, and toe as a synecdoche for consecrating the whole body. The plural in Judges 1:6-7 (the maiming of Adoni-bezek) reflects the extremities' military value.

Sources

  • BDB, s.v. בֹּהֶןlexicon
  • HALOT, s.v. בֹּהֶןlexicon

All attested forms of בֹּהֶן

f s construct

בֹּהֶן

Exo 29:20, Exo 29:20, Lev 8:23, Lev 8:23, Lev 8:24, Lev 8:24, Lev 14:14, Lev 14:14

f p construct

בְּהֹנוֹת

Jdg 1:6, Jdg 1:7