THIGII, the part of the body from the legs to the trunk, of men, quadrupeds, etc. (Heb. ; Sept. ,unp6s ; Vulg. femur). It occurs in Gen. xxxii. 25, 31, 32 ; Judg. 16, 21 ; Ps. xlv. 3 ; Cant. iii. 8. Putting the hand under the thigh ap pears. to have been a very ancient custom, upon occasion of taking an oath to any one. [OATH.] Our translation states that the hallow of Yacob's thigh was out of joint by the touch of the angel who wrestled with him' (Gen. xxxii. 25). Some, however, prefer to render vpril, was sprained, or wrenched, and adduce Jer. vi. 8 ; Ezek. XXIii. 17, 18. The Sept. renders it Kat elictpkncre ra a-Xciros mipor; ; the Vulg. tetigit nervum femoris ejus. et statim ernarcuit. Some such sense better suits ver. 31, where we find Jacob /wiping on his thigh ; see Gesenius on 3.19Y. The custom of Jacob's de scendants, founded upon this incident, is recorded in ver. 32, which has been thus translated : There fore the children of Yisrael eat not of the nerve Nashe, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day : because he struck the hollow of Yadcob's thigh, on the nerve Nashe' (Sept. rd peilpori, Vulg. nervus). The true derivation of the word rla) is considered by Dr. Furst, in his Con cordance, to be still a secret ; but, along with Gesenius, he understands the nerve itself to be the ischiatic nerve, which proceeds from the hip to the ankle. This nerve is still extracted from the hinder limbs by the Jews in England, and in other coun tries, where properly qualified persons are appointed to remove it (New Translation, etc., by the Rev. D. A. De Sola, p. 333). The phrase hip and thigh' occurs in Judg. xv. 8, in the account of
Samson's slaughter of the Philistines. Gesenius translates in this passage with, and understands it a.s a proverbial expression for he smote them all.' The Chaldee paraphrast interprets it, He smote both footmen and horsemen, the one resting on their legs (as the word inv should be rendered), the other on their thighs, as they sat on their horses.' Others understand that he smote them both on the legs and thighs. Some give another interpretation. Smiting- on the thigh denotes peni tence (Jer. xxxi. 19), grief, and mourning (Ezek. xxi. 12). A few mistranslations occur. The word thigh' should have been translated leg' in Is. XlVii. 2, plv, Kiriyhas, crura. In Cant. vii. r, the joints of thy thighs,' etc., the true meaning is, the cincture of thy loins (i.e. the drawers, trousers) is like jewellery.' Lady Wortley Montagu de scribes this article of female attire as composed of thin rose-coloured damask, brocaded with silver flowers' (Letters, iii. 12 ; see Harmer, On Solomon's Song., p. to). Cocceius, Buxtorf, Mercerus, and Junius, all adopt this explanation. In Rev. xix. 16, it is said the Word of God (ver. 13) hath on his vesture and 071 his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Schleusner thinks the name was not written upon the thigh, but upon the sword. Montfaucon gives an account of several images of warriors having inscriptions on the thighs (Antiquiti Expliquere, vol. iii. part ii. pp. 268-9 ; Grupter, 1489 ; and see Zornii Opt/sew/a S.S.
759).—J. F. D.