My spell check didn’t recognize the title of this article; yours probably won’t either.  When you learn the meaning of the word, you may want to add it to your word bank.  It is a word that is used to describe about how much someone cares about YOU.

Splagchnizomai is a Greek word that is found 12 times in the Bible.  Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines it as “to be moved as to one's bowels, hence, to be moved with compassion, have compassion (for the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity).”

Jack Deere, citing the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, states: “The nominal form of this word originally referred to the inner parts of a man: the heart, liver, and so on. It could be used of the inward parts of a sacrificial animal, but it became common to use this word in reference to the lower parts of the abdomen, the intestines, and especially the womb.” *

In the 12 uses of the word in the Bible, 9 of them refer to the compassion of Jesus that motivated Him to perform miracles for others.  The 3 other uses are used in the teachings of Jesus, 2 of which refer to the compassion of God.

Deere explains that “using the word for ‘intestines’ to refer to God's compassion is akin to our using the word ‘guts’ for courage in modern English, as when we say, ‘He really has guts.’ … The New Testament writers … were impressing on the readers the power and the force of God's compassion. They may also have had in mind a physical feeling associated with compassion. Sometimes a sharp pain in the abdomen will accompany intense feelings of compassion or pity for those we love. The choice of such a graphic word served to impress the New Testament Christians that God's compassion for them was rooted in His deep love for them and His sensitivity to their pain.” *

The word is often translated “compassion” in the Bible.  When we read the word, it describes how God feels about us: He cares about us very deeply.  Here are the two references of Jesus’ words that contain the word splagchnizomai:

• In the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant, Jesus told about how a king (representing God) responded to one of his servants that owed a tremendous debt: “Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion (Gr. splagchnizomai), released him, and forgave him the debt” (Matthew 18:27).

• In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus described the reaction of the father (representing God) when his “prodigal” son humbled himself and sought to return home: “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion (Gr. splagchnizomai) , and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).  The father forgave his son and welcomed him back into his home with all of the blessings and privileges of a son (Luke 15:21-24).