Bible Dictionary
SOUND
In biblical poetry, “sound” can describe the inward movement or yearning of the heart, pictured as a sound from the inward parts. The expression reflects the ancient association of the bowels with deep emotion.
Definition
In biblical poetic language, sound may describe the inward movement or yearning of deep emotion. The figure speaks of the “bowels” or inner parts as producing a sound, like a harp, because ancient usage regarded the intestines as a seat of emotion.
Biblical Usage
The expression occurs in passages describing intense inward feeling and yearning. Revised translations sometimes use “heart” or “the yearning of thy heart,” preserving the emotional sense while reducing the literal bodily imagery.
Historical Background
The figure reflects an ancient understanding that strong emotion could make the inner parts tense and seem to give forth a musical sound. The imagery is poetic rather than a description of ordinary speech or physical noise.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>sound: In Isa 63:15 the King James Version has "the sounding of thy bowels," a painfully literal translation of hamon me'eykha, with the similar phrase, "my bowels shall sound like an harp," in Isa 16:11 (compare Jer 48:36). The intestines were considered a seat of emotion, and at times of great excitement were thought (in poetry, at least) to become tense and to give forth a musical sound. The Revised Version (British and American) (following the King James Version in Jer 48:36) substitutes "heart" for "bowels" in Isa 16:11, thus obscuring the figure but preserving the sense. In Isa 63:15 the Revised Version (British and American) paraphrases "the yearning of thy heart" (the English Revised Version "bowels"), a needless change from 16:11.</p><p>See also BATH KOL; SOLEMN, SOLEMNITY.</p><p>Burton Scott Easton</p>