Lexicon
מׇתְנַ֫יִם
mo.ten
H4975
H:N-M Hebrew

loin

47
Occurrences
17
Books
Hebrew
Language

mo.ten denotes the bodily waist or loins, especially as the place where a belt, garment, or sackcloth is worn.

The term most often identifies the waist area as the place where a girdle, belt, writing case, or sackcloth is worn or where someone girds himself for action. It also marks the body region in descriptions of clothing, water level, and appearance, and in clauses portraying strength, anguish, shaking, or the disabling of opponents.

Senses in use

  1. Waist as the place for a belt or garment · dominant

    Construct dual forms occur where clothing or equipment is placed around this body region: in Exodus 12:11 the APB renders the instruction, "your loins girded," and in Jeremiah 13:1 it renders a flax girdle placed "upon your loins." The same placement is shown by sackcloth in Genesis 37:34 and by a writing case at a man's waist in Ezekiel 9:2.

  2. The bodily waist or midsection · common

    The term locates a bodily area without focusing on an item tied there. In Exodus 28:42 the APB describes undergarments extending "from the loins to the thighs," while Ezekiel 47:4 describes water "reaching the loins"; Ezekiel 1:27 uses the region as the boundary for the appearance seen upward and downward.

  3. Loins in depictions of force or distress · occasional

    Several clauses use the body region in scenes of strength, weakening, or pain. Deuteronomy 33:11 asks that the loins of opponents be shattered; Isaiah 21:3 has the speaker's loins filled with anguish; and Ezekiel 29:7 says that broken support will make every loin shake.

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across these verses, the APB commonly uses "loins," while it also uses "waist" where belts, writing cases, or sackcloth are situated. These English expressions present the clauses' bodily-location imagery rather than supplying a separate definition for each occurrence.

Passages featuring this word

Across Scripture