kidney
kil.yah denotes kidneys: animal organs in altar procedures, organs struck in suffering, and inward parts in reflective or testing language.
The term most often identifies the paired animal organs removed with surrounding fat in offering procedures. Other verses use it for bodily organs wounded or consumed, for inward parts associated with counsel, response, testing, and distance from God, and once in the construct phrase “kidneys of wheat.”
Senses in use
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Animal organs in offering procedures · dominant
In Exodus 29:13 the plural form occurs with the fat upon the two organs, which is burned on the altar. Leviticus 3:10 and Leviticus 4:9 likewise place the two organs among parts removed with fat and the liver lobe; in Isaiah 34:6 the construct form occurs in the phrase rendered “the fat of the kidneys of rams.”
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Inward parts in personal reflection and testing · common
In Psalm 16:7 the construct plural is the subject of the clause that the APB renders “my kidneys instruct me,” while Proverbs 23:16 connects them with exulting when upright speech is heard. Psalm 26:2 places them alongside the heart in a request for testing, and Jeremiah 12:2 contrasts nearness in the mouth with being far from the kidneys.
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Organs struck or consumed in suffering · occasional
Job 16:13 uses a construct plural in the clause rendered “he pierces my kidneys without pity.” Job 19:27 describes them as consumed within the speaker, and Lamentations 3:13 places the arrows of a quiver into them.
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Construct phrase in food imagery · rare
Deuteronomy 32:14 uses the construct plural in the phrase the APB renders “the fat of kidneys of wheat,” within a list of rich food and drink.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly renders the term as “kidneys,” especially in offering and bodily-injury clauses, but renders Psalm 139:13 as “inward parts” and Jeremiah 17:10 as “mind.” These renderings show the verse-level presentation rather than a fixed English equivalent.