Midvash

מֹתֶןmôthen

loins

Pronunciation: mo'-then · Hebrew/Aramaic (Old Testament) · H4975

Meanings

1.

a. place of wearing girdle (1 Kings 2:5; 2 Kings 1:8; Jeremiah 13:1)

b. hence place of things attached to girdle (2 Samuel 20:8; Nehemiah 4:12; Isaiah 45:1)

c. girding up loins = make ready for action (1 Kings 18:46; 2 Kings 4:29; 2 Kings 9:1)

d. that which is girt in the loins (Proverbs 30:31)

e. girded with sackcloth (in mourning) (Genesis 37:34; Amos 8:10; Isaiah 20:2)

f. linen breeches of priests were to extend מִמָּתְנַיִם וְעַד יְרֵכַיִם (Exodus 28:42; Ezekiel 44:18; Job 12:18)

g. in general of the middle of the body (Ezekiel 47:4; Ezekiel 1:27; Ezekiel 8:2)

2.

a. loins, as seat of strength (Deuteronomy 33:11; 1 Kings 12:10; 2 Chronicles 10:10)

b. as seat of keenest pain (Nahum 2:11; Isaiah 21:3; Psalms 66:11)

Same root

Where it appears

Appears 47 times in the Bible.

  • Genesis 37:34 Then Jacob tore his clothes and dressed himself in burlap. He mourned deeply for his son for a long time.
  • Exodus 12:11 “These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the Lord’s Passover.
  • Exodus 28:42 Also make linen undergarments for them, to be worn next to their bodies, reaching from their hips to their thighs.
  • Deuteronomy 33:11 Bless the ministry of the Levites, O Lord, and accept all the work of their hands. Hit their enemies where it hurts the most; strike down their foes so they never rise again.”
  • 2 Samuel 20:8 As they arrived at the great stone in Gibeon, Amasa met them. Joab was wearing his military tunic with a dagger strapped to his belt. As he stepped forward to greet Amasa, he slipped the dagger from its sheath.
  • 1 Kings 2:5 “And there is something else. You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me when he murdered my two army commanders, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He pretended that it was an act of war, but it was done in a time of peace, staining his belt and sandals with innocent blood.
See every passage

Source: Brown, Driver and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain; markup by unfoldingWord, CC BY (github.com/unfoldingWord/Brown-Driver-Briggs-Enhanced).