תַּחְרָא
ta.cha.ra
breastplate
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Tachara (תַּחְרָא): The Hebrew Breastplate The Hebrew word *tachara* refers to a breastplate—a piece of protective armor worn over the chest. Based on its limited attestation in the biblical text, this term represents specific military equipment from ancient Israel's warrior culture, functioning as defensive gear in combat situations. The rarity of this word in biblical literature, appearing only twice, suggests it may have been a specialized or technical term, possibly used to describe a particular style or type of chest protection rather than the most common term for such armor. Its presence in the Hebrew Bible indicates that Israelite soldiers employed breastplates as part of their standard military equipment, reflecting the material realities of ancient Near Eastern warfare where protecting vital organs was essential. Without additional context from the two occurrences themselves, the lexical data establishes only that *tachara* was a recognized piece of defensive military equipment in biblical Hebrew, though its precise construction, use, or cultural significance cannot be determined from this information alone.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
2 total occurrences across the text
It shall have a hole for the head in the middle of it. It shall have a binding of woven work around its hole, as it were the hole of a coat of mail, that it not be torn.
Exodus 39:23The opening of the robe in the middle of it was like the opening of a coat of mail, with a binding around its opening, that it should not be torn.