Dictionary entry

Thigh

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

The mode of taking an oath, alluded to in Ge 24:2-9 47:29-31, was significant of the swearer’s obligation to obedience. Jacob’s thigh was disabled by the Angel, to show the patriarch that his prevalence was through his faith and prayer, not through force, Ge 32:25-31. Smiting the thigh was a gesture of self-condemnation and grief, Jer 31:19Eze 21:12. Warriors wore their swords upon the left thigh, unless left-handed in readiness for use, Jud 3:15-21Ps 45:3So 3:8; so too they may have borne their names and titles, not only on their shields, but on their swords, or on the rove or mailed coat covering the thigh, Re 19:16. "Hip and thigh," Jud 15:8, seems to mean utterly and irrecoverably.