Biblical Anthropology and Ancient Science John R. Roberts SIL International ABSTRACT In this paper it is shown that biblical anthropology is based on ancient beliefs about the biological and physiological characteristics of a human being. The ancient Mesopotamians believed the heart is the seat of the intellect, the liver of affectivity, the stomach of cunning, the uterus of compassion, and the ears and the eyes of attention. The ancient Egyptians believed the heart to be the seat of intelligence despite a report by a battlefield surgeon on soldiers with severe head injuries which indicated that it was the brain that controlled mental activities. In the Bible the kidneys are viewed as controlling temperament or character and as being the seat of desires, the bowels are viewed as being the seat of deep emotions such as pity, compassion and distress, and the heart is viewed as the seat of the intellect and mind, the inner self of conscience where inclinations, resolutions and determinations of the will are made. Thus, biblical anthro- pology follows ancient scientific beliefs. The biblical view that a person has a soul and a spirit, both of which depart the body when a person dies, is also shown to be in alignment with ancient anthropological beliefs. How biblical anthropology is handled in the Amele Genesis and New Testament translations is also discussed. Introduction Roberts (2013, 2017) show that in the Genesis 1 creation account the heavens and the earth are created according to how the peoples of the ancient Near East (ANE) believed the universe to be. They believed that the earth is a flat, circular disk floating on the waters of the abyss. They believed the sky is a solid, dome-like structure that covers the whole earth, holding back a mass of water that exists above it. They also believed that daylight exists independently of the sun. 1 This explains why in the Genesis 1 account, for example, day and night are created on day one before the sun and moon are created on day four. We know how ANE people believed the cosmos to be through the religious mytho- logies, art and iconography they left behind. In support of this thesis in this paper I show that biblical anthropology is based on ancient beliefs about the biological and physiological characteristics of a human being. I examine five different aspects of human anthropology—the kidneys, the bowels, the heart, the soul and the spirit—as they are depicted in the Old Testament (OT) and the New Testament (NT). The kidneys are viewed as controlling temper- ament or character and as being the seat of desires. The bowels are viewed as being the seat of deep emotions such as pity, compassion and distress. The heart is viewed as the seat of the intellect and mind, the inner self of conscience where inclinations, resolutions and determinations of the will are made. This all follows ancient beliefs about human anthropology. However, it does not follow our modern understanding of human biology and physiology where the seat of emotions and intellect are found in the head, in the brain. I also examine the soul and the spirit as immaterial aspects of human anthro- pology. As far as we can tell all ANE cultures believed that a person comprised a body and a soul/spirit which went into the afterlife when the body died. In the Bible the soul and the spirit are depicted as separate and different aspects of the immaterial human composition. The soul is the inner self of a person. It is from the earth and relates the senses of the person to the physical world we live in. The spirit is the divine faculty and enables the person to relate to God. It seems that the soul/spirit dichotomy is original to the Bible. Nevertheless, it follows ancient anthropological belief in a soul/spirit. By 1 Walton, Matthews & Chavalas, eds. (2000: 28) say: “The people of the ancient world did not believe that all light came from the sun. There was no knowledge that the moon simply reflected the light of the sun. Moreover, there is no hint in the text that “daylight” was caused by sunlight. The sun, moon and stars were all seen as bearers of light, but daylight was present even when the sun was behind a cloud or eclipsed. It made its appearance before the sun rose, and remained after the sun set.”