מָחָה

# H4229C: מָחָה (machah) Based on the lexical data provided, מָחָה appears in the Hebrew Bible with the meaning "be marrow"—referring to the soft tissue found within bones. The word occurs only once in biblical text, making it an extremely rare term in the scriptural record. The single occurrence of this word limits our ability to establish a robust semantic range or to observe how ancient Hebrew speakers employed it in various contexts. With only one attestation, we cannot confidently determine whether the term functioned primarily as a literal anatomical reference or carried metaphorical significance. The rarity of the word suggests it may have been either a specialized medical or anatomical term with limited literary use, or perhaps a dialectal variant that did not achieve widespread adoption in biblical Hebrew. The scarcity of this lemma underscores an important principle in biblical lexicography: words attested in only a single instance pose interpretive challenges, as context alone must bear the full weight of establishing meaning. Without additional occurrences or related linguistic data, the precise nuance and cultural significance of מָחָה remain constrained by that solitary biblical reference.