ne.o.ret denotes a combustible, easily broken material in images of snapping cords and burning.

The two verses use the noun for a material characterized by quick breaking or burning: cords snap like it near fire in Judges 16:9, and the strong become it in a scene of unquenched burning in Isaiah 1:31.

1. Combustible material in breaking and burning imagery · dominant

   Both occurrences show the noun in images of fragility before fire. In Judges 16:9 the APB renders the comparison as cords snapping "as a strand of tow snaps when it smells fire"; in Isaiah 1:31 it renders the strong becoming "tow" as his work becomes a spark and both burn without a quencher.

   Judges 16:9Isaiah 1:31

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the term as "tow" in Isaiah 1:31 and as part of the phrase "a strand of tow" in Judges 16:9. These renderings confirm the verses' fire and breaking imagery rather than isolate every lexical nuance.