a denotes wood as a material, used in building work and in lists of materials for gods.

The attested uses refer to wood as a material: in Ezra it is placed in walls, specified in a building order, or taken from a house, while in Daniel it occurs among the materials of gods that are praised.

1. Wood as a building or listed material · dominant

   In Ezra 5:8 the absolute singular form occurs where the APB renders that “timber is being placed in the walls”; Ezra 6:4 likewise places it with layers of stone and “one layer of new wood,” and Ezra 6:11 speaks of timber taken from a house. In Daniel 5:4 and Daniel 5:23, the determined singular form is included in the APB's list of materials—“gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone”—for gods that are praised.

   Ezra 5:8Ezra 6:4Ezra 6:11Daniel 5:4Daniel 5:23

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the term as “timber” in the Ezra building and punishment clauses and as “wood” in the building order and Daniel's material lists. These renderings only indicate the clauses in which the form occurs.