1. Old Testament and Gospels.

The word “body” rarely appears in the Hebrew OT, because human beings are usually referred to as flesh and soul (cf. Flesh and spirit: I). The LXX often uses σῶμα/sṓma (“body”) to translate בָּשָׂר/bāśār (“flesh”). Although the term “body” does not occur in creation passages, it is still true that human beings were created by God as physical creatures and therefore physical bodily existence can be a blessing. The relationship of Adam and…