The Figurative Heart. In the great majority of its occurrences in the Scriptures, the word “heart” is used
figuratively. It is said to stand for “the central part in general, the inside, and so for
the interior man as manifesting himself in all his various activities, in his desires, affections, emotions, passions, purposes, his thoughts, perceptions, imaginations, his wisdom, knowledge, skill, his beliefs and his reasonings, his memory and his consciousness.”—
Journal of the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis, 1882, p. 67.
So, in the Scriptures the figurative heart is not confined to being the seat of affection and motivation, nor is it limited to the intellect. “Among the Semites . . . all that was peculiar to man, in the category of feelings as well as intellect and will, was attributed to the heart.” It is “the sum total of the interior man as opposed to the flesh, which is the exterior and tangible man.”—
The Metaphorical Use of the Names of Parts of the Body in Hebrew and in Akkadian, by E. Dhorme, Paris, 1963, pp. 113, 114, 128 (in French).
Not mere outward appearances but what a person really is inside is what counts with God, who is an examiner of hearts. (
Pr 17:3; 24:12; Ps 17:3; 1Sa 16:7) So the Scriptures counsel: “More than all else that is to be guarded, safeguard your heart [the whole inner man], for out of it are the sources of life.” (
Pr 4:23) And Christian wives are urged to give primary attention, not to external adornment, but to “the
secret person of the heart in the incorruptible apparel of the quiet and mild spirit, which is of great value in the eyes of God.”—
1Pe 3:3, 4.
In a number of cases in the Bible where the term “heart” occurs, it evidently focuses attention on the
thinking faculties, but not in a sense that would isolate such faculties from the rest of what makes up the inner person. Moses urged the Israelites, “You must call back to your heart [“must recall to your mind,” ftn] that Jehovah is the true God.” And later he told them, “Jehovah has not given you a heart [“mind,” ftn] to know.” (
De 4:39; 29:4) Showing that at times the heart, as referred to in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Greek Scriptures, includes the intellect are instances where it is associated with “thinking” (
Mt 9:4), “reasoning” (
Mr 2:6), “understanding” (
1Ki 3:12; Mr 6:52), and “knowledge” (
Pr 15:14).
All such functions, capabilities, emotions, and qualities are ascribed, not to the literal heart organ, but to the figurative heart as representing the total inner personality.
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200001948
