ma.lach denotes old rag-like material used with worn-out clothes to cushion ropes under Jeremiah’s arms.

The two verses show the term as plural old rag-like material used alongside worn-out clothes to pad the ropes placed beneath Jeremiah’s arms.

1. Old material used to cushion ropes · dominant

   Both occurrences are masculine plural absolute nouns in the rescue scene. In Jeremiah 38:11 the APB renders Ebed-melech taking “old rags and worn-out clothes” and lowering them by ropes to Jeremiah; in Jeremiah 38:12 it renders the instruction to place them beneath Jeremiah’s arm joints under the ropes.

   Jeremiah 38:11Jeremiah 38:12

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the material as “old rags” in both verses, paired with “worn-out clothes.” The precise division between those English phrases and the original terms cannot be confirmed.