σπλάγχνον

From the study of Philippians 2:1

Range of meaning

Literally the inner organs (heart, lungs, liver, kidneys), especially as eaten after a sacrifice. By extension the seat of deep emotion, much like English 'heart' or 'gut': affection, tender feeling, compassion.

Against the English

KJV and YLT 'bowels' was the standard figure in 1611 English for deep feeling. Today it suggests only digestion. BSB, ESV and NASB 'affection', NIV 'tenderness' and WEB 'tender mercies' convey the feeling but lose the physical, gut-level picture.

How it drifted

English 'bowels' kept its literal sense and lost its emotional one after the 17th century. The KJV rendering now misleads or amuses rather than moves.

Used elsewhere in the period

Septuagint Prov 12:10: 'the splagchna of the wicked are merciless'. In later Jewish Greek (4 Maccabees; Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, e.g. Testament of Zebulun) it carries the sense of compassion. The related verb splagchnizomai is used of Jesus being 'moved with compassion' in the Gospels. In Phil 1:8 Paul longs for them 'with the splagchna of Christ Jesus'.

From the study of Luke 1:78

Range of meaning

Literally the inner organs of a body, used in classical Greek especially for the parts of a sacrificed animal (heart, liver, lungs) that were removed and eaten. By extension it meant the seat of strong emotion, then the emotion itself: affection, compassion, heartfelt love. In Jewish Greek it absorbed the sense of Hebrew raḥamim (compassion; related to reḥem, 'womb'), which describes the deep, almost physical feeling a parent has for a child.

Against the English

KJV has 'tender mercy' here, but elsewhere it renders the word 'bowels' (Phil 1:8; Col 3:12 'bowels of mercies'). Modern versions use 'tender mercy,' 'heartfelt mercy' or 'compassion.' 'Tender' keeps the warmth but loses how physical and intense the image is: the feeling is gut-wrenching, not merely gentle.

How it drifted

Ancient people placed emotion in the gut and modern English places it in the 'heart,' so translators rightly avoid 'bowels.' The cost is that 'tender' can sound mild or sentimental.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX Prov 12:10 (translating raḥamim); 2 Macc 9:5–6 (literal entrails). The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs offers a very close parallel: T. Zebulun 7:3 and 8:2 speak of 'compassion of mercy' and of God in the last days sending his compassion (splanchnon) to the earth. These texts were edited by Christians and their dating is debated. The related verb splanchnizomai is used of Jesus' compassion (Luke 7:13) and of the father of the prodigal (Luke 15:20).

From the study of Colossians 3:12

Range of meaning

Splanchna: the inner organs. In classical Greek it meant especially the parts of a sacrificial animal that were roasted and eaten. In Hellenistic Jewish Greek it came to mean the seat of the emotions, so 'heart', 'deep affection' or 'compassion'. Oiktirmos: pity, compassion, mercy that responds to someone's distress (Greek Old Testament plural for Hebrew raḥamim).

Against the English

KJV 'bowels of mercies' is anatomically accurate, but to modern ears it sounds crude or comic. BSB 'hearts of compassion' and ESV 'compassionate hearts' move the feeling to the organ English now uses. NIV and NLT drop the organ altogether, which reads smoothly but loses the physical, gut-level force.

How it drifted

In 1611 'bowels' could still mean the inner seat of tender feeling. Since then it has narrowed to the intestines alone.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (Second Temple Jewish) speak of 'compassion of splanchna'. Paul pairs the same two words in Phil 2:1 ('any splanchna and oiktirmoi') and uses splanchna for deep affection in Phil 1:8 and Philem 7, 12, 20. The related verb splanchnizomai describes Jesus being 'moved with compassion' in the Gospels. God is 'the Father of mercies (oiktirmōn)' in 2 Cor 1:3.