LIP (Heb. sâphâh, sâphâm; Gr. cheitos ). 1 . sâphâh , the usual OT word, and of very frequent occurrence. Only rarely are the lips referred to from the point of view of description of physical beauty and charm ( Song of Solomon 4:3; Song of Solomon 4:11; Song of Solomon 5:13 ). Once they are associated with kissing ( Proverbs 24:26 ), once with drinking ( Song of Solomon 7:9 , with which cf. Psalms 45:2 ), once (anthropomorphically of J″ [Note: Jahweh.] ) as the source from which the breath issues ( Isaiah 11:4 ); once the protrusion of the lips occurs as a gesture of mocking contempt ( Psalms 22:7 ). Twice ( 2 Kings 19:28 , Isaiah 37:29 ) we have an allusion to the cruel Assyrian custom of passing a ring through the lips of captives and leading them about with a rope or thong. But in the great majority of cases the lips are referred to as organs of speech ( Job 27:4 , Psalms 119:171 , Proverbs 15:7; Proverbs 24:2 ). Hence, according to the kind of words they utter and the quality of the heart from which the words come, they are described figuratively as uncircumcised ( Exodus 6:12; Exodus 6:30 ), flattering ( Psalms 12:2; Psalms 12:8 ), feigned ( Psalms 17:1 ), lying ( Psalms 31:18 ), joyful ( Psalms 63:5 ), perverse ( Proverbs 4:24 ), righteous ( Proverbs 16:13 ), false ( Proverbs 17:4 ), burning ( Proverbs 26:23 ), unclean ( Isaiah 6:5 ). By an intensification or extension of this figurative use, swords are said to be in the lips ( Psalms 59:7 ), adders’ poison to be under them ( Psalms 140:3 ), or in them a burning fire ( Proverbs 16:27 ). In Isaiah 57:18 ‘the fruit of the lips’ = praise. For Hosea 14:2 see Calves of the Lips. 2 . sâphâm ( Ezekiel 24:17; Ezekiel 24:22 , Micah 3:7 , only in the phrase ‘cover the lips’), whose equivalent is ‘moustache,’ it being the Eastern custom to cover this as a sign of stricken sorrow. 3 . cheitos occurs 6 times in NT, always in quotations from LXX [Note: Septuagint.] : Matthew 15:8 and Mark 7:6 = Isaiah 29:18; Romans 3:13 = Psalms 140:3 [ Psalms 139:4 ]; 1 Corinthians 14:21 = Isaiah 28:11; Hebrews 13:15 = Hosea 14:2; 1 Peter 3:10 = Psalms 34:18 [ Psalms 33:14 ].
J. C. Lambert.