Proverbs 3:8

Pro 3:8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

Ver. 8. It shall be health to thy navel.] That is, Thou shalt be in good plight both for the outward and inward man: Thy bones full of marrow, thy breasts full of milk, thy spirit also lively and lifted up in the ways of the Lord. And as it is with children in the womb (for to these is the allusion here), that by the navel nourishment is ministered unto them, yea, even to the strengthening of the inward parts: so the godly in the Church are fed and bred by the faith and fear of God. And as without marrow in the bones, no part of man, no, not that which is of greatest value and force, is able to do any thing: {a} so the strength that they have from God, is as the marrow which strengtheneth the bones, and maketh them apt to do good things. And as a man that hath his bones filled with marrow, and hath abundance of good blood and fresh spirits in his body, can endure to go with less clothes than another, because he is well lined within: so it is with a heart that hath a great deal of grace and peace; he will go through difficulties and troubles, though outward comforts fail him. It is recorded of Mr Saunders, martyr, {b} that himself should tell the party that lay in the same bed with him in prison, that even in the time of his examination before Stephen Gardiner, he was wonderfully comforted, not only in spirit, but also in body, he received a certain taste of that holy communion of saints, while a most pleasant refreshing did issue from every part and member of the body to the seat and place of the heart, and from thence did ebb and flow to and fro unto all the parts again.

{a} Munster, Mercer, T. W., and others, in loc.

{b} Acts and Mon., fol. 1358.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3:8 Healing and strength mean enjoying physical vitality as God’s reward for following wisdom’s way.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

By this part he comprehendeth the whole body, as by health he meaneth all the benefits promised in the Law both corporal and spiritual.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

It--This conduct.

health--(Compare Margin).

to thy navel--for all the organs of nourishment.

marrow--(Compare Margin).

bones--frame of body. True piety promotes bodily health.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 8. It shall be health to thy navel] We need not puzzle ourselves to find out what we may suppose to be a more delicate meaning for the original word שר shor than navel; for I am satisfied a more proper cannot be found. It is well known that it is by the umbilical cord that the fetus receives its nourishment all the time it is in the womb of the mother. It receives nothing by the mouth, nor by any other means: by this alone all nourishment is received, and the circulation of the blood kept up. When, therefore, the wise man says, that "trusting in the Lord with the whole heart, and acknowledging him in all a man's ways, c., shall be health to the navel, and marrow to the bones" he in effect says, that this is as essential to the life of God in the soul of man, and to the continual growth in grace, as the umbilical cord is to the life and growth of the fetus in the womb. Without the latter, no human being could ever exist or be born; without the former, no true religion can ever be found. Trust or faith in God is as necessary to derive grace from him to nourish the soul, and cause it to grow up unto eternal life, as the navel string or umbilical cord is to the human being in the first stage of its existence. I need not push this illustration farther: the good sense of the reader will supply what he knows. I might add much on the subject.

And marrow to thy bones.] This metaphor is not less proper than the preceding. All the larger bones of the body have either a large cavity, or they are spongious, and full of little cells: in both the one and the other the oleaginous substance, called marrow, is contained in proper vesicles, like the fat. In the larger bones, the fine oil, by the gentle heat of the body, is exhaled through the pores of its small vesicles, and enters some narrow passages which lead to certain fine canals excavated in the substance of the bone, that the marrow may supply the fibres of the bones, and render them less liable to break. Blood-vessels also penetrate the bones to supply this marrow and this blood; and consequently the marrow is supplied in the infant by means of the umbilical cord. From the marrow diffused, as mentioned above, through the bones, they derive their solidity and strength. A simple experiment will cast considerable light on the use of the marrow to the bones: - Calcine a bone, so as to destroy all the marrow from the cells, you will find it exceedingly brittle. Immerse the same bone in oil so that the cells may be all replenished, which will be done in a few minutes; and the bone reacquires a considerable measure of its solidity and strength; and would acquire the whole, if the marrow could be extracted without otherwise injuring the texture of the bone. After the calcination, the bone may be reduced to powder by the hand; after the impregnation with the oil, it becomes hard, compact, and strong. What the marrow is to the support and strength of the bones, and the bones to the support and strength of the body; that, faith in God, is to the support, strength, energy, and salvation of the soul. Behold, then, the force and elegance of the wise man's metaphor. Some have rendered the last clause, a lotion for the bones. What is this? How are the bones washed? What a pitiful destruction of a most beautiful metaphor!

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(8) Navel.—As being the centre, and so the most important part of the body. (Comp. the epithet applied to Delphi, “navel of the earth.”)

Marrow.—Literally, watering: i.e., refreshing. (Comp. Job_21:24.) For the opposite condition, “dryness of the bones, comp. Pro_17:22.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. health] By an eternal law the moral condition and the physical are linked together; the mens sana promotes the corpus sanum.

“Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is.” 1Ti_4:8.

to thy navel] So R.V. The LXX. give to thy body, τῷ σώματί σου (comp. Pro_4:22), reading, as Ewald conjectures, a Heb. word which differs by a single letter (which has dropped out) from our present Heb. text Their rendering, however, may be only a free translation, of the nature of a gloss, of the Heb. as it now stands.

marrow] Lit. moistening. Vulg. irrigatio. The moisture and freshness of a healthy and well-nourished body are indicated. Comp. “The marrow of his bones is moistened,” Job_21:24, R.V., and for the contrary effect of disease and suffering, Job_30:30; Psa_102:3.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It shall be health to thy navel,.... That part of the body which is the knot of the intestines; and may be put for the bowels and inward parts, which being sound, the body is in health; and these may be put for the whole body: and so the Septuagint version renders it, "to thy body"; and this may be put for the whole person. And the sense is, either wisdom, as Jarchi; the doctrine of wisdom, the Gospel; which teaches men to trust in the Lord, and not in themselves, to apply to him for wisdom, and not lean to their own understanding; this contributes much to a man's spiritual health and welfare: or else the fear of the Lord is of this use to men, both in soul and body; since by it they depart from those sins which bring diseases upon the body; and are influenced by it to the exercise of such graces, and the discharge of such duties, as are the means of keeping the soul in good plight;

and marrow to thy bones; or, "watering" (m) to them: that which irrigates and moistens them, and makes and keeps them strong and solid: see Job 21:24. What marrow is to the bones, that is wisdom, or the fear of God, to the souls of men; the means of establishing and strengthening them against sin, and snares and temptations, and to do the will and work of God.

(m) "irrigatio", V. L. Montanus, Tigurine version, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Amama, Schultens.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Navel - The central region of the body is taken as the representative of all the vital organs. For “health” we should read healing, or, as in the marg. There is probably a reference to the local applications used by the surgery of the period as means of healing.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Bones. Thou shalt enjoy perfect health.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

To thy navel, i.e. to thy body, which is signified by the navel, which is a noble and useful part of the body, by which the infant receives nourishment in the womb, and which is the ligament or bond by which the bowels, a principal part of the body, are united together and preserved.

Marrow is the nourishment and strength of the bones, and a great preserver and prolonger of life, as the decay of it is a chief cause of the weakness, and dryness, and decay of the body. The sense of the verse is, This wisdom or fear of God is not only useful to the salvation of the soul, but also to the health and welfare of the body, both as it prevents those diseases and distempers which are oft procured by sinful lusts and passions, and as it giveth us an interest in all God’s promises, and putteth us under the care of his special providence.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. Health to thy navel — Rather, restoration to thy sinew, (sing. coll.,) and moistening (refreshment) to thy bones. The word שׁר, (shor,) rendered navel in E.V., literally means a cord, and is sometimes, as in Eze_16:4, applied to the umbilical cord; but in other places it seems to be used for sinews, muscles, or tendons of the body, or of a particular part of it, as Job_40:16, where the rendering probably should be, “the muscles of the belly.” In this place the word stands in parallelism with bones, and probably means the firmer muscular or tendinous parts, in contradistinction to the bony or more solid parts. Taken together, the terms mean the body. The muscles, sinews, or tendons, are the “cordage” of the body, by which the bones are both held in their places and moved. In order to sound health and longevity these need continual renovation, to repair and compensate the waste always taking place. This restoration is made by the proper distribution of the vital fluids to every part, perfectly irrigating the whole body, even the bones. This seems to be the imagery of the text, and the sentiment is, that piety and high mental cultivation, which are always in this book supposed to go hand in hand, tend to the preservation of health and the prolonging of life — a fact which observation and experience have abundantly demonstrated. The average period of human life is greatly extended by the march of Christian civilization and enlightenment. That restraint (musar, discipline, see note, Pro_1:2) which true religion, whether Mosaic or Christian, throws upon the passions and appetites — that moderation and temperance which it enjoins in the use of earthly good — that knowledge of physical laws which it promotes — that serenity of mind which it inspires — as also that sacredness with which it invests life — all tend to the prolongation and happiness of earthly existence.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. A metaphorical expression, denoting the complete spiritual health which shall follow from fearing the Lord and departing from evil. Health, (riph"uth); properly, healing; LXX, iasiv ; Vulgate, sanitas; so Syriac and Arabic. The Targum Jonathan has medicina, "medicine," as the margin. The root rapha is properly "to sew together," and the secondary meaning, "to heal," is taken from the healing of a wound by sewing it up. Delitzsch, however, thinks riph"uth is not to be taken as a restoration from sickness, but as a raising up from enfeebled health, or a confirming of the strength which already exists. There shall be a continuance of health. Gesenius translates "refreshment." To thy navel (l"shor"rekha); Vulgate, umbilico tuo; so Targum Jonathan. Shor is "the navel," here used synecdochically for the whole body, just as "head" is put for the whole man, (Jud_1:5:30) "mouth" for the whole person speaking, (Pro_8:13) and "slow bellies" for depraved gluttons (Tit_1:12) (Gejerus, Umbreit). The idea is expressed in the LXX, Syriac, and Arabic by "to thy body" (tw swmati sou ; corpori tuo). The navel is here regarded as the centre of vital strength. For the word, see Son_7:2 Eze_16:4. This is the only place in the Proverbs where this word is found. Gesenius, however, takes shor, or l"shor"rekha, as standing collectively for the nerves, in which, he says, is the seat of strength, and translates accordingly, "Health (i.e. refreshment) shall it be to thy nerves." Marrow (shik"kuy); literally, watering or moistening, as in the margin; Vulgate, irrigatio. Moistening is imparted to the bones by the marrow, and thus they are strengthened: "His bones are moistened with marrow".Where (Job_21:24) there is an absence of marrow the drying up of the bones ensues, and hence their strength is impaired, and a general debility of the system sets in they "wax old". (Psa_32:3) The effect of a broken spirit is thus described: "A broken spirit drieth up the bones". (Pro_17:22) The physiological fact here brought forward is borne witness to by Cicero, "In Tusc.:" "In visceribus atque medullis omne bonum condidisse naturam" (cf. Plato). The meaning of the passage is that, as health to the navel and marrow to the bones stand as representatives of physical strength, so the fear of the Lord, etc., is the spiritual strength of God"s children.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Navel - To thy body, which is signified by one part of it. Marrow - Which is the nourishment and strength of the bones.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

It shall be healing for your navel Heb. לשרך. The wisdom shall be healing. שרך is like (Song 7:4): שררך, which means, your navel.

and marrow for your bones Heb. ושקוי, lit. moisture. That is the marrow, as the matter is stated (Job 21:24): “and the marrow of his bones is moistened.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.