עֶ֫צֶם
bone
also: essence, substance fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Construct-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Gender
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
- Singular
- One.
Grammatical forms
- Noun, Common, Feminine, Plural, Construct 68 times (54%)
- Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Construct 34 times (27%)
- Noun, Common, Feminine, Plural, Absolute 16 times (13%)
- Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Absolute 8 times (6%)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 126 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where H6106 appears — 108 distinct verses across 24 books. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Genesis 6 verses
- Genesis 2:23 עֶ֚צֶם מֵֽ/עֲצָמַ֔/י n c fs prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs The man said, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."
- Genesis 7:13 בְּ/עֶ֨צֶם prep + n c fs cs In the same day Noah, and Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, entered into the ark;
- Genesis 17:23 בְּ/עֶ֨צֶם֙ prep + n c fs cs Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house, and all who were bought with his money; every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the same day, as God had said to him.
- Genesis 17:26 בְּ/עֶ֨צֶם֙ prep + n c fs cs In the same day both Abraham and Ishmael, his son, were circumcised.
- Genesis 29:14 עַצְמִ֥/י n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs Laban said to him, Surely you are my bone and my flesh. He lived with him for a month.
- Genesis 50:25 עַצְמֹתַ֖/י n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here."
Exodus 6 verses
- Exodus 12:17 בְּ/עֶ֨צֶם֙ prep + n c fs cs You shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this same day have I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall you observe this day throughout your generations by an ordinance forever.
- Exodus 12:41 בְּ/עֶ֨צֶם֙ prep + n c fs cs It happened at the end of four hundred thirty years, even the same day it happened, that all the hosts of Yahweh went out from the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 12:46 וְ/עֶ֖צֶם conj + n c fs In one house shall it be eaten; you shall not carry forth anything of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall you break a bone of it.
- Exodus 12:51 בְּ/עֶ֖צֶם prep + n c fs cs It happened the same day, that Yahweh brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.
- Exodus 13:19 עַצְמ֥וֹת עַצְמֹתַ֛/י n c fp cs n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the children of Israel swear, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones away from here with you."
- Exodus 24:10 וּ/כְ/עֶ֥צֶם conj + prep + n c fs cs They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was like a paved work of sapphire stone, like the skies for clearness.
Leviticus 5 verses
- Leviticus 23:14 עֶ֨צֶם֙ n c fs cs You shall eat neither bread, nor roasted grain, nor fresh grain, until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God. This is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
- Leviticus 23:21 בְּ/עֶ֣צֶם prep + n c fs cs You shall make proclamation on the same day: there shall be a holy convocation to you; you shall do no regular work. This is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
- Leviticus 23:28 בְּ/עֶ֖צֶם prep + n c fs cs You shall do no manner of work in that same day; for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before Yahweh your God.
- Leviticus 23:29 בְּ/עֶ֖צֶם prep + n c fs cs For whoever it is who shall not deny himself in that same day; shall be cut off from his people.
- Leviticus 23:30 בְּ/עֶ֖צֶם prep + n c fs cs Whoever it is who does any manner of work in that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.
Numbers 4 verses
- Numbers 9:12 וְ/עֶ֖צֶם conj + n c fs They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break a bone of it. According to all the statute of the Passover they shall keep it.
- Numbers 19:16 בְ/עֶ֥צֶם prep + n c fs cs Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
- Numbers 19:18 בַּ/עֶ֨צֶם֙ prep det + n c fs and a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, and on all the vessels, and on the persons who were there, and on him who touched the bone, or the slain, or the dead, or the grave:
- Numbers 24:8 וְ/עַצְמֹתֵי/הֶ֛ם conj + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp God brings him forth out of Egypt; He has as it were the strength of the wild-ox: He shall eat up the nations his adversaries, Shall break their bones in pieces, Smite [them] through with his arrows.
Deuteronomy 1 verse
Joshua 3 verses
- Joshua 5:11 בְּ/עֶ֖צֶם prep + n c fs cs They ate of the produce of the land on the next day after the Passover, unleavened cakes and parched grain, in the same day.
- Joshua 10:27 עֶ֖צֶם n c fs cs It happened at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave in which they had hidden themselves, and laid great stones on the mouth of the cave, to this very day.
- Joshua 24:32 עַצְמ֣וֹת n c fp cs The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money: and they became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
Judges 2 verses
- Judges 9:2 עַצְמֵ/כֶם n c fs cs + sfx pers 2mp Please speak in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, that all the sons of Jerubbaal, who are seventy persons, rule over you, or that one rule over you? Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.
- Judges 19:29 לַ/עֲצָמֶ֔י/הָ prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3fs When he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the borders of Israel.
1 Samuel 1 verse
2 Samuel 6 verses
- 2 Samuel 5:1 עַצְמְ/ךָ֥ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms Then came all the tribes of Israel to David to Hebron, and spoke, saying, Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.
- 2 Samuel 19:12 עַצְמִ֥/י n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs You are my brothers, you are my bone and my flesh: why then are you the last to bring back the king?
- 2 Samuel 19:13 עַצְמִ֥/י n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs Say you to Amasa, Aren't you my bone and my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if you aren't captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.
- 2 Samuel 21:12 עַצְמ֤וֹת עַצְמוֹת֙ n c fp cs n c fp cs David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh Gilead, who had stolen them from the street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, in the day that the Philistines killed Saul in Gilboa;
- 2 Samuel 21:13 עַצְמ֣וֹת עַצְמ֖וֹת עַצְמ֖וֹת n c fp cs n c fp cs n c fp cs and he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son: and they gathered the bones of those who were hanged.
- 2 Samuel 21:14 עַצְמוֹת n c fp cs They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. After that God was entreated for the land.
1 Kings 2 verses
- 1 Kings 13:2 וְ/עַצְמ֥וֹת conj + n c fp cs He cried against the altar by the word of Yahweh, and said, altar, altar, thus says Yahweh: Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men's bones shall they burn on you.
- 1 Kings 13:31 עַצְמֹתָ֔י/ו עַצְמֹתָֽ/י n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs It happened, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the tomb in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.
2 Kings 5 verses
- 2 Kings 13:21 בְּ/עַצְמ֣וֹת prep + n c fp cs It happened, as they were burying a man, that behold, they spied a band; and they cast the man into the tomb of Elisha: and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.
- 2 Kings 23:14 עַצְמ֥וֹת n c fp cs He broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the Asherim, and filled their places with the bones of men.
- 2 Kings 23:16 הָֽ/עֲצָמוֹת֙ ptcl def.art + n c fp As Josiah turned himself, he spied the tombs that were there in the mountain; and he sent, and took the bones out of the tombs, and burned them on the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of Yahweh which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.
- 2 Kings 23:18 עַצְמֹתָ֑י/ו עַצְמֹתָ֔י/ו עַצְמ֣וֹת n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms n c fp cs He said, Let him be; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria.
- 2 Kings 23:20 עַצְמ֥וֹת n c fp cs He killed all the priests of the high places that were there, on the altars, and burned men's bones on them; and he returned to Jerusalem.
1 Chronicles 2 verses
- 1 Chronicles 10:12 עַצְמוֹתֵי/הֶ֜ם n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp all the valiant men arose, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
- 1 Chronicles 11:1 עַצְמְ/ךָ֥ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms Then all Israel gathered themselves to David to Hebron, saying, Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.
2 Chronicles 1 verse
Job 13 verses
- Job 2:5 עַצְמ֖/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms But put forth your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will renounce you to your face."
- Job 4:14 עַצְמוֹתַ֣/י n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs Fear came on me, and trembling, Which made all my bones shake.
- Job 7:15 מֵֽ/עַצְמוֹתָֽ/י prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs So that my soul chooses strangling, Death rather than my bones.
- Job 10:11 וּֽ/בַ/עֲצָמ֥וֹת conj + prep + n c fp You have clothed me with skin and flesh, And knit me together with bones and sinews.
- Job 19:20 עַצְמִ֑/י n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh. I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
- Job 20:11 עַ֭צְמוֹתָי/ו n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms His bones are full of his youth, But youth shall lie down with him in the dust.
- Job 21:23 בְּ/עֶ֣צֶם prep + n c fs cs One dies in his full strength, Being wholly at ease and quiet.
- Job 21:24 עַצְמוֹתָ֣י/ו n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms His pails are full of milk. The marrow of his bones is moistened.
- Job 30:17 עֲ֭צָמַ/י n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs In the night season my bones are pierced in me, And the pains that gnaw me take no rest.
- Job 30:30 וְ/עַצְמִ/י conj + n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs My skin grows black and peels from me. My bones are burned with heat.
- Job 33:19 עֲצָמָ֣י/ו n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms He is chastened also with pain on his bed, With continual strife in his bones;
- Job 33:21 עַ֝צְמוֹתָ֗י/ו n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms His flesh is so consumed away, that it can't be seen; His bones that were not seen stick out.
- Job 40:18 עֲ֭צָמָי/ו n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms His bones are like tubes of brass. His limbs are like bars of iron.
Psalms 15 verses
- Psalms 6:2 עֲצָמָֽ/י n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs Have mercy on me, Yahweh, for I am faint. Yahweh, heal me, for my bones are troubled.
- Psalms 22:14 עַצְמ֫וֹתָ֥/י n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; It is melted within me.
- Psalms 22:17 עַצְמוֹתָ֑/י n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs I can count all of my bones. They look and stare at me.
- Psalms 31:10 וַ/עֲצָמַ֥/י conj + n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs For my life is spent with sorrow, My years with sighing. My strength fails because of my iniquity. My bones are wasted away.
- Psalms 32:3 עֲצָמָ֑/י n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
- Psalms 34:20 עַצְמוֹתָ֑י/ו n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms He protects all of his bones. Not one of them is broken.
- Psalms 35:10 עַצְמוֹתַ֨/י n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs All my bones shall say, "Yahweh, who is like you, Who delivers the poor from him who is too strong for him, Yes, the poor and the needy from him who robs him?"
- Psalms 38:3 בַּ֝/עֲצָמַ֗/י prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation, Neither is there any health in my bones because of my sin.
- Psalms 42:10 בְּֽ/עַצְמוֹתַ֗/י prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs As with a sword in my bones, my adversaries reproach me, While they continually ask me, "Where is your God?"
- Psalms 51:8 עֲצָמ֥וֹת n c fp Let me hear joy and gladness, That the bones which you have broken may rejoice.
- Psalms 53:5 עַצְמ֣וֹת n c fp cs There they were in great fear, where no fear was, For God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you. You have put them to shame, Because God has rejected them.
- Psalms 102:3 וְ֝/עַצְמוֹתַ֗/י conj + n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs For my days consume away like smoke. My bones are burned as a firebrand.
- Psalms 102:5 עַ֝צְמִ֗/י n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs By reason of the voice of my groaning, My bones stick to my skin.
- Psalms 109:18 בְּ/עַצְמוֹתָֽי/ו prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment. It came into his inward parts like water, Like oil into his bones.
- Psalms 141:7 עֲ֝צָמֵ֗י/נוּ n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cp "As when one plows and breaks up the earth, Our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol."
Proverbs 5 verses
- Proverbs 3:8 לְ/עַצְמוֹתֶֽי/ךָ prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 2ms It will be health to your body, And nourishment to your bones.
- Proverbs 12:4 בְּ/עַצְמוֹתָ֣י/ו prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms A worthy woman is the crown of her husband, But a disgraceful wife is as rottenness in his bones.
- Proverbs 14:30 עֲצָמ֣וֹת n c fp The life of the body is a heart at peace, But envy rots the bones.
- Proverbs 15:30 עָֽצֶם n c fs The light of the eyes rejoices the heart. Good news gives health to the bones.
- Proverbs 16:24 לָ/עָֽצֶם prep det + n c fs Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
Ecclesiastes 1 verse
Isaiah 3 verses
- Isaiah 38:13 עַצְמוֹתָ֑/י n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs I quieted [myself] until morning; as a lion, so he breaks all my bones: From day even to night will you make an end of me.
- Isaiah 58:11 וְ/עַצְמֹתֶ֖י/ךָ conj + n c fp cs + sfx pers 2ms and Yahweh will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in dry places, and make strong your bones; and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters don't fail.
- Isaiah 66:14 וְ/עַצְמוֹתֵי/כֶ֖ם conj + n c fp cs + sfx pers 2mp You shall see [it], and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like the tender grass: and the hand of Yahweh shall be known toward his servants; and he will have indignation against his enemies.
Jeremiah 3 verses
- Jeremiah 8:1 עַצְמ֣וֹת עַצְמוֹת עַצְמ֨וֹת עַצְמ֣וֹת עַצְמ֥וֹת n c fp cs n c fp cs n c fp cs n c fp cs n c fp cs At that time, says Yahweh, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves;
- Jeremiah 20:9 בְּ/עַצְמֹתָ֑/י prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs If I say, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name, then there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with forbearing, and I can't [contain].
- Jeremiah 23:9 עַצְמוֹתַ֔/י n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs Concerning the prophets. My heart within me is broken, all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine has overcome, because of Yahweh, and because of his holy words.
Lamentations 4 verses
- Lamentations 1:13 בְּ/עַצְמֹתַ֖/י prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs From on high has he sent fire into my bones, and it prevails against them; He has spread a net for my feet, he has turned me back: He has made me desolate and faint all the day.
- Lamentations 3:4 עַצְמוֹתָֽ/י n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs My flesh and my skin has he made old; he has broken my bones.
- Lamentations 4:7 עֶ֨צֶם֙ n c fs Her nobles were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk; They were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was as of sapphire.
- Lamentations 4:8 עַצְמָ֔/ם n c fs cs + sfx pers 3mp Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: Their skin cleaves to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.
Ezekiel 15 verses
- Ezekiel 2:3 עֶ֖צֶם n c fs cs He said to me, Son of man, I send you to the children of Israel, to nations that are rebellious, which have rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me even to this very day.
- Ezekiel 6:5 עַצְמ֣וֹתֵי/כֶ֔ם n c fp cs + sfx pers 2mp I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.
- Ezekiel 24:2 עֶ֖צֶם בְּ/עֶ֖צֶם n c fs cs prep + n c fs cs Son of man, write you the name of the day, [even] of this same day: the king of Babylon drew close to Jerusalem this same day.
- Ezekiel 24:4 עֲצָמִ֖ים n c fp gather the pieces of it into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.
- Ezekiel 24:5 הָ/עֲצָמִ֖ים עֲצָמֶ֖י/הָ ptcl def.art + n c fp n c fp cs + sfx pers 3fs Take the choice of the flock, and also a pile [of wood] for the bones under [the caldron]; make it boil well; yes, let the bones of it be boiled in the midst of it.
- Ezekiel 24:10 וְ/הָ/עֲצָמ֖וֹת conj + ptcl def.art + n c fp Heap on the wood, make the fire hot, boil well the flesh, and make thick the broth, and let the bones be burned.
- Ezekiel 32:27 עַצְמוֹתָ֔/ם n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp They shall not lie with the mighty who are fallen of the uncircumcised, who are gone down to Sheol with their weapons of war, and have laid their swords under their heads, and their iniquities are on their bones; for [they were] the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
- Ezekiel 37:1 עֲצָמֽוֹת n c fp The hand of Yahweh was on me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of Yahweh, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.
- Ezekiel 37:3 הָ/עֲצָמ֣וֹת ptcl def.art + n c fp He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? I answered, Lord Yahweh, you know.
- Ezekiel 37:4 הָ/עֲצָמ֣וֹת הָ/עֲצָמוֹת֙ ptcl def.art + n c fp ptcl def.art + n c fp Again he said to me, Prophesy over these bones, and tell them, you dry bones, hear the word of Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 37:5 לָ/עֲצָמ֖וֹת prep det + n c fp Thus says the Lord Yahweh to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.
- Ezekiel 37:7 עֲצָמ֔וֹת עֶ֖צֶם עַצְמֽ/וֹ n c fp n c fs n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and, behold, an earthquake; and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
- Ezekiel 37:11 הָ/עֲצָמ֣וֹת עַצְמוֹתֵ֛י/נוּ ptcl def.art + n c fp n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cp Then he said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.
- Ezekiel 39:15 עֶ֣צֶם n c fs cs Those who pass through the land shall pass through; and when any sees a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, until the undertakers have buried it in the valley of Hamon Gog.
- Ezekiel 40:1 בְּ/עֶ֣צֶם prep + n c fs cs In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth [day] of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was struck, in the same day, the hand of Yahweh was on me, and he brought me there.
Amos 2 verses
- Amos 2:1 עַצְמ֥וֹת n c fp cs Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Moab, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime;
- Amos 6:10 עֲצָמִים֮ n c fp "When a man's relative carries him, even he who burns him, to bring bodies out of the house, and asks him who is in the innermost parts of the house, 'Is there yet any with you?' And he says, 'No;' then he will say, 'Hush! Indeed we must not mention the name of Yahweh.'
Micah 2 verses
- Micah 3:2 עַצְמוֹתָֽ/ם n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp You who hate the good, And love the evil; Who tear off their skin, And their flesh from off their bones;
- Micah 3:3 עַצְמֹֽתֵי/הֶ֖ם n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp Who also eat the flesh of my people, And flay their skin from off them, And break their bones, And chop them in pieces, as for the pot, And as flesh within the caldron.
Habakkuk 1 verse
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
עצם (ʻetsem) is a Hebrew noun most often rendered “bone.” Beyond its headline sense, its full sense range takes in “essence” and “substance”. It turns up in 108 verses across 24 books, a common footprint. Scripture first uses it in Genesis 2:23. It clusters with עצם, עצום and עצם under a shared root. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H6106 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 108
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 108 distinct verses.
- 24 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 24 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #351
- by frequency
- Top 500 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 351 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 108 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 108 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 45 verses · 42%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 41 verses · 38%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 22 verses · 20%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 2 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Bones 74×, Bone 8×, Selfsame 8×
- American Standard Version†: Bones 57×, Selfsame 10×, All my bones 5×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Bones 79×, Very 9×, Blood 6×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Bones 63×, Bones of 20×, Bone 16×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H6106 across 126† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 24 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H6106 across 125† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 41 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H6106 across 115† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 10 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 11 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H6106 across 145† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 11 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
8 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 8 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
עצם I
- 1. bone:
- a. of living pers. Mi 3:2, 3 (hyperb.), Jb 10:11; 19:20 La 4:8 ψ 102:6; Ec 11:5 +; fig. of close relationship †עֶצֶם מֵעֲצָמַי Gn 2:23, cf. 29:14 (both J), Ju 9:2; 2 S 5:1 = 1 Ch 11:1; 2 S 19:13, 14 (all + בָּשָׂר). e.g. Micah 3:2
- b. ע׳ + בָּשָׂר = body, Jb 2:5; pl. = bodily frame Je 20:9 (sim.), limbs, members, לַעֲצָמֶיהָ Ju 19:29 i.e. limb by limb (GFM); as seat of vigour Jb 20:11, etc. e.g. Job 2:5
- c. (poet.) as seat of disease and pain Jb 30:17, 30 and (especially of personif. Isr.) ψ 22:15; 31:11; 102:4; La 1:13; Hb 3:16 +. e.g. Job 30:17
- d. pl. as representing entire person = one’s whole being, (especially of personif. Isr.) ψ 6:3 (‖ נֶפֶשׁ v 4), 35:10 (‖ נֶפֶשׁ v 9), Is 66:14; of individ. (incl. physical and moral) Pr 3:8; 14:30; 15:30; 16:24. e.g. Psalms 6:3
- e. sg. = external body La 4:7 Ew Th al., but dub.; Bi Bu bones (= branches) of coral (פְּנִינִים); Löhr עוֹרָם their skin. f. especially of dead Nu 19:16, 18 (P), Ez 37:1 +; often (pl.) = remains Am 6:10; Gn 50:25; Ex 13:19(×2); Jos 24:32 (all E) 2 S 21:12, 13 +. e.g. Lamentations 4:7
- 2. bone of animal Ex 12:46 Nu 9:12 (both P); Ez 24:4, 5 (symbol.); of (living) hippopot. Jb 40:18. e.g. Exodus 12:46
- 3. sg. substance, self (cf. גֶּרֶם 3): כְּע׳ הַשָּׁמַיִם Ex 24:10 (JE), like the substance of the sky = the sky itself; בְּע׳ תֻּמּוֹ Jb 21:23 i.e. full prosperity; especially אֶת־ע׳ הַיוֹם הַזֶּה Ez 24:2 this selfsame day, בְּע׳ וגו׳ 24:2; 40:1; Gn 7:13; 17:23, 26; Ex 12:17, 41, 51; Lv 23:21, 28, 29, 30 Dt 32:48; Jos 5:11 (all P) Ez 40:1, עַד־ע׳ וגו׳ Ez 2:3; Lv 23:14 (P), Jos 10:27 (R).—Ez 24:5a read הָעֵצִים (Bö Ew al.); v 10 del. הָעֲצָמוֹת (Co Toy); Jb 7:15 read מֵעַצְּבוֹתָ֑י (Reiske Me Bu Du al.); ψ 53:6 read perhaps מֵעֲצַת (cf. ‖ ψ 14:6 Bae; v. Hup Che al.); 69:5 read מֵעַצְמוֹתַי (for MT מַצְמִיתַי), 𝔖 Ol Che Bae al. e.g. Exodus 24:10
עצם II loc. Ασομ, etc., in Negeb of Judah, עָ֑צֶם Jos 15
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. n.f. ψ 35:10; Jb 19:20 (c. pron. masc. Ez 37:5, 6 etc., cf. Albr.ZAW xvi (1896), 73) bone, substance, self;—abs. ע׳ Gn 2:23 +; עָ֑צֶם Pr 15:30; 16:24; cstr. עֶצֶם Ex 24:10 +; sf. עַצְמִי Jb 19:20 +, etc.; pl. עֲצָמוֹת 2 K 23:16 +; cstr. עַצְמוֹת Jos 24:22 +; sf. עַצְמֹתַי Jb 4:14 +, etc.; also עֲצָמִים Ez 24:4 +, sf. עֲצָמַי Gn 2:23 +, etc.;—
II. n.pr.loc. Ασομ, etc., in Negeb of Judah, עָ֑צֶם Jos 15:29, Simeon 19:3 1 Ch 4:29 (עֶצֶם).
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from עצם (ʻâtsam) (H6105) — to be mighty.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
עָצַם
- (b. h.)
- 1. to press; to close (the eyes). Yalk. Is. 304 זה העוֹצֵם עיניו כשעומדות וכ׳ he who closes his eyes when (he sees) Israelitish girls stand washing. Sifra K’dosh., Par. 3, ch. VII יַעֲצוֹם, v. infra.
- 2. [to be compressed, hard,] to be strong, v. עָצוּם a. עֶצֶם.
- 3. (denom. of עֶצֶם) to acquire, possess. Gen. R. s. 64 שעָצַמְתָּ, v. עֶצֶם.
- to close (the eyes). Kidd. 32ᵇ יכול יַעֲצִים עיניו וכ׳ perhaps a man might think, he will close his eyes and pretend not to see him (the old man); Yalk. Lev. 617; Sifra l. c. יעצום. Sabb. XXIII, 5 מַעֲצִים, v. עָמַץ.
- to close (a dead body’s eyes), v. עָמַץ.
- 1. to be closed, v. עָמַץ.
- 2. to be headstrong towards one another. Snh. 31ᵇ שנים שנִתְעַצְּמוּ בדין וכ׳ if both parties to a law-suit are stubborn, one saying, let us go to law here, and the other saying, let us go to the circuit court.
- 3. v. עִיצּוּם 3) to fortify each other, i.e. to enter an agreement with the condition of forfeiture. Tosef. B. Mets. I, 16 שנים שנתעצמו זה בזה ואמר וכ׳ if two made an agreement wherein one said, if I do not come &c.
עֶצֶם
- preced.) [strength,]
- 1. bone. Tosef. Sabb. VII (VIII), 21 עמד ע׳ בגרונו if a bone sticks in one’s throat; Sabb. 67ᵃ. Pes. VII, 11 השובר את הע׳ וכ׳ he who breaks a bone of the Passover sacrifice. Ib. 12 שאין בו משום שבירת הע׳ because the prohibition to break a bone does not apply to it; a. v. fr.—Pl. עֲצָמוֹת. Ib. 10. Ib. VIII, 8 והמלקט לו ע׳ he who has the bones (of a parent) collected, v. לָקַט; a. v. fr.
- 2. substance, essence, self (v. עִיצּוּם). Ab. I, 14 וכשאני לעַצְמִי וכ׳ and if I am (I care) for myself only, what am I? Ib. II, 13 אל תהי רשע בפני עַצְמֶךָ be not a wicked man in thine own sight (despair not of thyself). Ber. 43ᵃ; Tosef. ib. IV, 8 כל אחד ואחד מברך לעַצְמוֹ each says the blessing for himself. Zeb. VIII, 10 כשהוא בעצמו when it (the addition to, or the diminution from the prescribed action) stands by itself (is clearly visible); R. Hash. 28ᵇ; Erub. 100ᵃ. Sifré Deut. 19 לא מעַצְמִי אני וכ׳ I did not say that of my own accord (as my idea), but at the command of God. Num. R. s. 20; Tanḥ. Bal. 13 בקש לילך לעצמו וכ׳ he wanted to go to himself (go home); a. v. fr.—Pl. constr. עַצְמֵי. Sifré Deut. 16 לשעבר … עַצְמֵיכֶם וכ׳ in the past you were your own masters, now you are servants and subjects of the community; a. fr.
- 3. substance, wealth, esp. live stock. Yalk. Gen. 111 (ref. to וַעֲבֻדָּה, Gen. XXVI, 14) וַעֲבָדָהּ כתיב אם אין אדם נעשה כעבד לעַצְמוֹ וכ׳ it may be read ‘and he shall serve it’, unless a man become like a slave to his stock, he does not own it; Gen. R. s. 64 כמו עבד לעבדו (read לעצמו; cmp. Snh. 58ᵇ).—Pl. as ab. Gen. R. l. c. (ref. to עצמת ממנו, Gen. XXVI, 16) כל אותן ע׳ שעצמת ממני היה לך all these possessions (herds and flocks) which thou hast obtained, are they not from us?; Yalk. l. c. עֲצוּמוֹת. e.g. Genesis 26:14
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 93 distinct written forms H6106 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 33 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H6106, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Shares the same root
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 6 — not the complete family. 1 of the same-root words is a proper name (a person or place). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 104 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 108 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 2:23
- Exodus 12:17
- Leviticus 23:14
- Numbers 9:12
- Deuteronomy 32:48
- Joshua 5:11
- Judges 9:2
- 1 Samuel 31:13
- 2 Samuel 5:1
- 1 Kings 13:2
- 2 Kings 13:21
- 1 Chronicles 10:12
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
