Foot

(to place on)

Because people of Bible times walked long distances over difficult terrain, they developed strong muscles in their legs and feet.[98] The link between feet and strength was so forged that putting one’s foot on a piece of property came to symbolize ownership while placing one’s foot on a person indicated dominance or control over him or her.

Placing one’s foot on a piece of property to confirm ownership is alluded to in Ruth 4:7, which mentions the transfer of a sandal from one person to another as an indication that land ownership had been transferred. When an owner wanted to transfer property rights, it appears that he walked the boundary line of the parcel of land in a pair of sandals and then gave one sandal to the new owner to symbolize that the property had changed ownership.[99] When the Lord was ready to transfer ownership of the Promised Land into the hands of Abraham and his descendants, he did not mention the sandal, but he did speak of putting the feet of the new owners on the land. God told Abram, “Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you” (Gen. 13:17). Caleb was told that in return for his faithful service he would receive a special piece of property, “the land he set his feet on” (Deut. 1:36; see the promise fulfilled in Josh. 14:9). And God promised the Israelites in general that if they were faithful to the covenant, “Every place where you set your foot will be yours” (Deut. 11:24). But this property ownership did not extend into the territory the Lord had determined to give Edom. The Israelites were not to provoke them because “I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on” (Deut. 2:5). Note that years later when Moses sought transit through the Edomites’ land, he asked that they be allowed to “pass through on foot—nothing else” (Num. 20:19). Note that on foot is clearly distinguished from putting one’s foot on the land.

Victorious generals often placed their feet on the defeated as a sign of their absolute dominance over them.

Placing one’s powerful foot on a person carried the connotation that he or she had been fully humiliated and defeated. This is a symbol that we find in the literature and art of many ancient Near Eastern cultures.[100] Following the successful effort of Joshua in defeating the five-king alliance in a battle that began near Gibeon, he forced those proud rulers to lie on the ground so that his victorious commanders could each place their foot on the necks of the conquered leaders (Josh. 10:24). Like Joshua, King David also was very successful in defeating the local kings who opposed the expansion of his kingdom. Recalling those victories, David described how he “crushed them completely, and they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet” (2 Sam. 22:39; see also Ps. 18:38). Solomon echoed the idea and image in 1 Kings 5:3. And the psalmist celebrated in song God’s role in all the victories from the time of Joshua through the time of David: “He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet” (Ps. 47:3).

There are cases when a person fell at the feet of a leader as a voluntary act to show willing submission rather than the humiliating subjugation of a conquered foe. Abigail bowed before David, begging forgiveness for the foolish acts of her husband and thus saving her household from bloodshed (1 Sam. 25:23–24). And Esther fell at the feet of King Xerxes, pleading for an edict that would save the lives of the Jews (Esther 8:3).

Despite the challenges offered by this terrain, the people of Bible times traveled from one place to another on foot.

The biblical authors also describe the Lord as putting persons or places under his feet. Humans were assigned a prominent place in the hierarchy of the created world; everything was under their feet (Ps. 8:6). That grant could be given only by the Creator, who had made heaven his throne and earth his footstool (Isa. 66:1). But since the fall into sin, not everything in creation remains a willing subject of the Lord; rebellious enemies abound. While we may receive battle scars as a consequence of this ongoing fight, the ultimate defeat of the opposition is never in doubt. We are promised that a special seed of the woman will put his foot on the leader of this revolt (Gen. 3:15). This messianic king is invited by his father to “sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet” (Ps. 110:1; see its echo in Luke 20:41–44; Acts 2:34–35; Heb. 1:13; 10:13). The battle will rage on into the last days, but the outcome is fully assured; everything will be put under his feet, including the one leading the rebellion (Ps. 45:5; Eph. 1:22; Heb. 2:8). The divine promise is crystal clear: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom. 16:20).

If we see the foot as a symbol of strength, we will gain new insight into several other passages where the biblical authors mention feet. As Jacob’s life was coming to a close, he gave special instructions to his sons and then “drew his feet up into the bed” (Gen. 49:33). Strong legs that had once walked the Promised Land were now weakened by age, signaling that the end of his life was near. Similarly, we can make better sense of an event from the life of Balaam (Numbers 22). This man was hired by Balak, the son of the king of Moab, to put a curse on God’s people. Though the Lord allowed Balaam to start his journey, it was punctuated by a reminder that it was the Lord and not Balaam who was in control. Even before his donkey talked, it crushed Balaam’s foot against a wall as a way of symbolizing the real weakness of the man who claimed to have power (Num. 22:25).