A part of a person that can be seen by others. Unlike “inner man,” do not confuse the term with other biblical and nonbiblical terms like:
“Old man and new man”
“Natural man and spiritual man”
“Body and soul”
Near Eastern, especially Semitic, thinking dealt in wholes, not dichotomies. The inner and outward man were viewed as parts of a whole, not opposites.
The phrase appears only in 2 Corinthians 4:16. Similar terms, such as “outward appearance,” are in other verses (1 Samuel 16:7; Matthew 23:27–28; 2 Corinthians 10:7). The Bible says a person's appearance should match their inner self. The Talmud says, “A scribe whose inner man does not correspond to the outer is no scribe.”