Inspiration for the heart
Literary use of the metaphor “heart” (Gk: καρδία; Aram: לבב; Heb: לב) in what could be an axial description of Jerusalem occurs in antiquity as far as we know only in Matthew. A native Galilean or Judean would have most likely used the Aramaic phrase לבב ארק or לבב ארע for “heart of the earth.” In a more formal or liturgical context the Hebrew phrase הלב הארץ probably would have been used. We at least have a linguistic-stylistic precedent for the metaphorical usage in the Hebrew phrase “in the heart of the seas” (Heb: בלב־ימים; LXX: ἐν καρδίαις θαλασσῶν ), which appears a number of times in the Scriptures (Ex.15:8; Ps 46:2; Ezek 27:4, 25, 26, 27; 28:2,8; Jonah 2:3). The phrase with the singular “sea” (ים, θαλάσσης ) occurs in Prov 23:34; 30:19;
cf. de corde maris in 4 Esdras 13:3,25, 51). The greatest likelihood is that the inspiration for Matthew’s rare use of the metaphor “heart” rather than “middle,” “center” or “navel” comes from the prayer of Jonah while in the belly of the great fish:
You cast me into the deep,into the heart of the seas (בלבב ימים), and the waters surrounded me; all your waves and breakers passed over me (Jonah 2:4 MT).
As Jonah spent three days and three nights in the heart of the seas , Jesus will spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth . The “heart” metaphor clearly connotes “depth” in the prayer of Jonah, but the evidence is compelling for the connotation of “centrality” in Matthew’s use of the metaphor. The connotation of the whole phrase “heart of the earth” in light of tradition indicating the axial significance of Jerusalem is what matters in the case of Matthew’s language.
In Jonah 2:7 MT, the prophet speaks further of his ordeal, saying:
לקצבי הרים ירדתי הארץ ברחיה בצדי לצולם ותעל משׁחת חיי יהוה אלהי
(I descended to the bases of the mountains; the earth with her bars was around me forever, but you brought my soul up from the pit, O YHWH, my God).
The “bases of the mountains” (קצבי הרים), “the earth with her bars” (הארץ ברחיה ), and “the pit” (שׁחת) may very well be echoed in the Matthean phrase, “heart of the earth.” Also, this place to which Jonah descends is clearly deep under water. These echoes would strongly suggest that “the heart of the earth” is Sheol in some metaphorical sense of the word, but still this would not require that the primary referent for the phrase is actually the subterranean deep.
In biblical tradition, generally speaking, the “heart” metaphor does not necessarily connote “depth.” In Ezek 27:25-27, the city of Tyre is told that:
The ships of Tarshish exported your goods and you were loaded full and packed with wealth in the heart of the seas. Your rowers have brought you into great waters; the east wind has shattered you in the heart of the seas.Your wealth, your merchandise, your goods, your seamen and sailors maintaining your seams, the traders of your goods
and your men of war who are aboard, and who are assembled
in the midst of you shall fall into the heart of the seas on the day of your ruin.
These verses have implications for a broad understanding of the phrase “in the heart of the seas.” Ships in the sixth century BCE sailed on the surface of the seas, not beneath the waves. Even if a shipwreck resulted in loss beneath the waves, the event itself still happened on the surface of the waters. In biblical tradition, the phrase “in the heart of the seas” does not necessarily connotate being submerged in the sea.
In Ezek 27:2; 28:2 the city of Tyre itself is built and stands “in the heart of the seas.” That certainly does not mean that Tyre is submerged beneath the surface of the waters. The metaphor “heart” alone does notnecessarily require a location beneath the surface of anything. The “heart of the earth” is no more necessarily beneath the surface of the earth than the “heart of the seas” is necessarily beneath the surface of the water. The metaphor “heart” can very well connotate “centrality” rather than “depth.”
Moreover, an important parallel to the phrase “in the heart of the seas” occurs in
Ezek 26:5 where the destruction of Tyre is prophesied: “It shall be a spreading place for nets in the center of the sea (הים בתוך).” The parallel occurs again in Ezek 27:32:
And in their mourning they shall lift up a lament for you, and a
lament over you, “Who was ever devastated like Tyre in the
center of the sea ( הים בתוך )”?
The phrase הים בתוך also occurs in the wider biblical context (Ex 14:16, 27, 29; 15:19; Neh 9:11=2 Esdras 19:11 LXX).11With slight variation, the LXX renders the phrase ἐν μέσῳ τῆς θαλάσσης . The renderings in the middle of the sea or in the midst of the sea are also acceptable for the Hebrew phrase in these verses, but a more precise translation would be consistent with the way we would render בתוך הארץ (“in the center of the earth”). The more significant observation is that “center” (תוך ) is a clear parallel to “heart” (לב) in these places. From this point, it does not matter whether the phrases we compare contain the singular “sea” or plural “seas.” 22Cf. the singular mare , maris in 4 Esdras 13:3,5,25, 51,52; and ים in Prov 23:34; 30:19. Therefore, the phrases “in the center of the seas” and “in the heart of the seas” aresometimes equivalent in biblical tradition. It stands to reason, that the phrases “in the center of the earth” and “in the heart of the earth” can also be equivalent in biblical tradition. This is a pivotal point in this study and it deserves emphasis. The sometime equivalency between “center of the seas” and “heart of the seas” in biblical tradition at least establishes the possibility that “center of the earth” and “heart of the earth” are equivalent terms. The term “center of the earth” would be further delimited by Matthew’s Jewish context to mean Jerusalem and its immediate environs.