The legs of an animal were among the choice parts offered in sacrifices. In a human being legs provide strength. Bowing the knee symbolises the submitting of one's human strength to God's control.
Choice parts of a sacrificial animal
Ezekiel 24:4 See also Exodus 12:9EXO Exodus 29:17–18; Leviticus 1:9, Leviticus 1:13, Leviticus 8:21, Leviticus 9:13–14 Leviticus 4:11–12 burnt outside the camp in the sin offering
Put in the pieces of meat, every good piece— thigh and shoulder — fill it with choice bones.
Legs of human beings are objects of beauty
Song of Solomon 5:15, Song of Solomon 7:1
Legs of human beings symbolise strength
Revelation 10:1 See also 1 Samuel 17:6; Psalm 147:10; Daniel 2:33, Daniel 2:40, Daniel 10:6
Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head. His face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire.
God's judgment saps human strength
Daniel 5:5–6 See also Ezekiel 7:17, Ezekiel 21:7; Nahum 2:10; Habakkuk 3:16
At that moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. As the king watched the hand that was writing, his face grew pale and his thoughts so alarmed him that his hips gave way and his knees knocked together.
God's judgment brings pain and disgrace
Deuteronomy 28:35; Isaiah 7:20, Isaiah 47:2
God gives strength to the weak
Hebrews 12:12–13 See also Job 4:4; Isaiah 35:3
Therefore strengthen your limp hands and weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
The legs of Jesus Christ were not broken at his death
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.