Page 170 - Coincidences in the Bible and in Biblical Hebrew

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CHAPTER 10 THE HUMAN BODY
CHAPTER 10 THE HUMAN BODY 149
order to allow the human hand a large number of degrees of freedom in carrying
out its movements.
The flexibility of the human hand in performing these many functions is

reflected in the comparatively large number of bones in a human hand. The hand

has at least twenty-seven bones, which may be divided into three groups:

• The wrist (carpus), which accounts for eight bones (arranged in two
rows of four; these bones fit into a shallow socket formed by the bones of

the forearm).

• The palm (metacarpus) contains five bones, one to each of the five

fingers (digits).

• The hand (see comment), consisting of five fingers, has fourteen digital
bones. These are also called phalanx bones . A human hand contains two

bones in the thumb and three in each of the four fingers (2+3*4 = 14).
The name “phalanges” is commonly given to the bones that form fingers

and toes. In primates such as humans and monkeys, the thumb and

big toe have two phalanges, while the other fingers and toes consist of
three.
Comments

Collins Dictionary (Hanks et al., 1988) defines “hand” as “the prehensile part of

the body at the end of the arm, consisting of a thumb, four fingers and a palm.”
It is difficult to judge which exact part of the arm biblical Hebrew refers to in

the corresponding term for “hand.” But it seems that according to the Hebrew
language, the most important feature of the hand is its fingers, as proved by the

calculation that follows.
1
In the Hebrew language, “hand” is yad. The sum total of the letters comprising
this word adds up to exactly fourteen, the number of bones in a human hand:

14 � (4 = ד) + (10 = י)

10.3.7 Summary of Main Points
In the Hebrew language:

Face = “the inside” (in plural, “multifaceted”)
Ear = “balance” (unrelated to “hearing”)