מִצְחָה

# מִצְחָה (Mitskhah): A Single Reference to Protective Armor The Hebrew word *mitskhah* appears only once in the biblical text, where it is translated as "greave"—a piece of protective armor that covers the lower leg and shin. This single occurrence severely limits what can be definitively established about the word's full range of meaning or cultural significance based solely on biblical evidence. The rarity of this term suggests it may have referred to a specific military equipment item that was either uncommon in ancient Israel, used by foreign troops described in biblical narratives, or mentioned in a particular historical context that occurs only once in the surviving biblical record. Without additional occurrences to establish patterns of usage or to clarify whether the term had metaphorical applications, the lexical data permits only the straightforward identification of *mitskhah* as a concrete object of military hardware—namely, a leg covering worn for protection in battle.