מַ֫חַץ

# מַחַץ (machats): A Rare Biblical Term for Wound The Hebrew word *machats* appears only once in the Bible, making it an exceptionally rare term. Its definition—"wound"—places it within the semantic field of physical injury or harm to the body. Despite its singular occurrence, its inclusion in the biblical lexicon indicates that ancient Hebrew speakers recognized it as a distinct word with a specific referent, though we cannot determine from frequency alone whether it was common in everyday speech or reserved for particular contexts. Because *machats* occurs only once, the lexicon provides limited evidence about its precise nuances or how it might differ from other Hebrew words for wounds or injuries. The single attestation means we cannot establish whether it had specialized usage (such as describing a particular type of wound), whether it appeared in specific literary genres, or what its relationship was to synonymous terms. This linguistic isolation prevents us from fully mapping its meaning or determining whether it was a common word that happened to appear rarely in preserved biblical texts, or a technical or poetic term with restricted application. For readers encountering biblical translations, *machats* represents a vocabulary item that likely goes unnoticed due to its single appearance. Its rarity underscores that even biblical Hebrew, with its roughly 8,000-word vocabulary spread across 39 books, contains terms whose full significance and usage patterns remain difficult to assess from surviving textual