Lexical Summary mothen: Loins, waist, hips Original Word: מֹתֶן Strong's Exhaustive Concordance to be slender From an unused root meaning to be slender; properly, the waist or small of the back; only in plural the loins -- + greyhound, loins, side. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom an unused word Definition loins NASB Translation back (1), body (1), heart (1), herself (1), hips (1), loins (32), rooster (1), side (1), strutting* (1), waist (7). Brown-Driver-Briggs מָתְנַ֫יִם noun masculine dual loins (Arabic  back,  the two sides of the back, etc.; Syriac  ; — absolute ׳מ Deuteronomy 33:11 7t., מָתְנָ֑יִם Ezekiel 29:7; Ezekiel 47:4; construct מָתְנֵי Jeremiah 13:11 + 3t.; suffix מָתְנַי Isaiah 21:3, מָתְנָ֑י Jeremiah 13:2; מָתְנֵיהֶם 1Kings + Jeremiah 20:32 4t., etc.; — loins: 1. a. place of wearing girdle 1 Kings 2:5; 2 Kings 1:8; Jeremiah 13:1,2,4,11; Ezekiel 23:15; figurative Isaiah 11:5 righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins. b. hence place of things attached to girdle: — sword girded on (חגר על, אסר 2 Samuel 20:8; Nehemiah 4:12; opposed to, וּמָתְנֵי מְלָכִים אֲפַתֵּחַ Isaiah 45:1 and the loins of kings I will loosen, i e. will disarm them (׳י before Cyrus; compare Che); ink-horn Ezekiel 9:2,3,11. c. girding up loins = make ready for action, וַיְשַׁנֵּס מָתְנָיו 1 Kings 18:46; more often ׳חָגַר מ 2 Kings 4:29; 2 Kings 9:1; Exodus 12:11 (P), Daniel 10:5; ׳אָזַר מ Jeremiah 1:17. d. ׳זַרְזִיר מ Proverbs 30:31 that which is girt in the loins, i.e. probably either a greyhound Ew Bö De (contracted, as if by a belt), or a war-horse, charger, Bo Ges Hi Str Wild (with a saddle); compare also זרזיר, p. 267 above; text perhaps corrupt (Wild). e. girded with sackcloth (in mourning) Genesis 37:34 (J), Amos 8:10; Isaiah 20:2; 1 Kings 20:31,32; Jeremiah 48:37. f. linen breeches of priests were to extend מִמָּתְנַיִם וְעַד יְרֵכַיִם Exodus 28:42 (P); to be ׳עַלמָֿת Ezekiel 44:18; loins of slaves are girt with waistcloth, compare Job 12:18 (see also אֵזוֺר). g. in General of the middle of the body, ׳מֵי מָת Ezekiel 47:4 (i.e. water reaching to the loins); so of the appearance of ׳י in Ezekiel's visions Ezekiel 1:27 (twice in verse); Ezekiel 8:2 (twice in verse). 2. a. loins as seat of strength, Deuteronomy 33:11; 1 Kings 12:10 2Chronicles 10:10; חַזֵּק מָתְנַיִם Nahum 2:2 ("" אַמֵּץ כֹּחַ); כֹּחוֺ בְּמָתְנָיו Job 40:16 (of hippopotamus); in combination with 1a (figurative) חָֽגְרָה ׳בְּעוֺז מ Proverbs 31:17 she girdeth her loins with strength, she puts on energy with her girdle; compare also ׳בְּשִׁבְרוֺן מ Ezekiel 21:11 sigh with breaking of loins, i.e. in entire collapse of strength; so תָּמִיד ׳הַמְעַ֑ד וּמ Psalm 69:24 and make their loins continually to shake, make them totter; compare Ezekiel 29:7 (where read וְהִמְעַדְתָּ for וְהַעֲמַדְתָּ, see מָעַד). b. as seat of keenest pain, due to grief or dread Nahum 2:11; Isaiah 21:3 (as in travail); so probably also Psalm 66:11 (compare Bae; and see מוּעָקָה below עוק). Topical Lexicon Usage in Scripture The noun מֹתֶן (mōten) designates the “loins” or “waist,” the part of the body where the long outer garment was bound up for work, warfare, or rapid movement. Of the forty-seven Old Testament occurrences, most fall into five natural groups: 1. Girding for action or travel (Exodus 12:11; 1 Kings 18:46; 2 Kings 4:29; Jeremiah 1:17). Physical and Cultural Background Ancient Near-Eastern attire consisted of a knee-length or ankle-length tunic, which restricted movement unless “girded up” with a sash around the loins. To “gird the loins” meant to tuck the lower part of the tunic into the belt, freeing the legs for labor, battle, or a journey. The phrase thus came to signify readiness and resolve. Because the waist is also near the kidneys and reproductive organs, the Hebrews viewed the loins as the core of strength, stamina, and generative power. Theological and Symbolic Significance Readiness for Divine Service: When Israel ate the first Passover, they were told, “You must be dressed for travel, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand” (Exodus 12:11). Though the renders the idiom idiomatically, the underlying Hebrew reads, “your loins girded,” underscoring the posture of alert obedience at the moment of redemption. Dependence on God-given Strength: Twice the LORD commands Job, “Now gird up your loins like a man” (Job 38:3; 40:7). The call exposes human frailty before divine omnipotence; Job must summon his utmost strength merely to listen as God speaks. Righteousness as a Belt: “Righteousness will be a belt around His loins, and faithfulness a sash around His waist” (Isaiah 11:5). The Messiah’s moral integrity secures every movement of His reign, just as a soldier’s belt secures his weapons and garments. The New Testament later echoes this imagery in the believer’s “belt of truth.” Warning Against Apostasy: Jeremiah acted out a living parable by hiding and retrieving a ruined linen waistband: “So I went to Perath and dug up the waistband…and it was ruined, useless for anything” (Jeremiah 13:7). Judah’s spiritual decay is pictured in a garment that should have clung to the prophet’s loins but instead had rotted away. Judgment and Anguish: Prophets describe sudden terror as pain in the loins: “Therefore my body is filled with anguish; pain grips me, like those of a woman in labor” (Isaiah 21:3). The same bodily locus that signifies strength becomes the place where strength collapses under divine judgment. Prophetic and Messianic Resonances Isaiah 11:5 anchors Messianic expectation in the language of loins. The Messiah’s belt is righteousness itself, assuring Israel that His rule will never sag or fail. Conversely, Nahum 2:10 portrays the downfall of Nineveh with slack loins and trembling knees, foreshadowing the final defeat of every power opposed to God’s kingdom. Ezekiel’s inaugural vision presents “a brilliant light; the appearance of fire from His waist upward and from His waist downward” (Ezekiel 1:27), placing the radiant glory of God at the very point where human strength is normally located. The prophet thus learns that true power issues from the LORD, not from human sinew. Lessons for Ministry and Discipleship • Spiritual Readiness: Believers are to keep their “loins” perpetually girded—hearts, minds, and bodies poised for obedience (compare 1 Peter 1:13). Representative References Readiness and Action: Exodus 12:11; 1 Kings 18:46; 2 Kings 4:29; Jeremiah 1:17 Strength Commanded: Job 38:3; Job 40:7; Proverbs 31:17 Affliction and Fear: Isaiah 21:3; Jeremiah 30:6; Nahum 2:10 Prophetic Symbolism: Isaiah 11:5; Jeremiah 13:1–11; Ezekiel 1:27 Descriptive Narrative: 2 Kings 1:8; Ezekiel 23:15; Daniel 10:5 Forms and Transliterations בְּמָתְנֵ֜ינוּ בְּמָתְנֵיהֶ֗ם בְּמָתְנֵיהֶ֜ם בְּמָתְנֵיהֶֽם׃ בְּמָתְנָ֑יו בְּמָתְנָ֔יו בְּמָתְנָֽיו׃ בְמָתְנֵֽינוּ׃ בְמָתְנָ֑יו במתניהם במתניהם׃ במתניו במתניו׃ במתנינו במתנינו׃ וּ֝מָתְנֵ֗יהֶם וּמִמָּתְנָ֣יו וּמָתְנֵ֥י וּמָתְנָ֥יו וממתניו ומתני ומתניהם ומתניו מִמָּתְנֵ֥י מִמָּתְנַ֥יִם מָתְנֵי־ מָתְנֵיהֶ֑ם מָתְנֵיכֶ֣ם מָתְנֶ֑יהָ מָתְנֶ֑יךָ מָתְנֶ֔יךָ מָתְנֶ֗יךָ מָתְנַ֔יִם מָתְנַ֖יִם מָתְנַ֙יִם֙ מָתְנַ֣יִם מָתְנַ֧יִם מָתְנַי֙ מָתְנָ֑יו מָתְנָ֖יו מָתְנָ֛יו מָתְנָֽיִם׃ מָתְנָֽי׃ מָתְנָיו֙ ממתני ממתנים מתני מתני־ מתני׃ מתניה מתניהם מתניו מתניך מתניכם מתנים מתנים׃ bə·mā·ṯə·nāw ḇə·mā·ṯə·nāw bə·mā·ṯə·nê·hem bə·mā·ṯə·nê·nū ḇə·mā·ṯə·nê·nū bemateNav bəmāṯənāw ḇəmāṯənāw bəmāṯənêhem bemateneiHem bemateNeinu bəmāṯənênū ḇəmāṯənênū mā·ṯə·na·yim mā·ṯə·nā·yim mā·ṯə·nāw mā·ṯə·nay mā·ṯə·nāy mā·ṯə·nê- mā·ṯə·ne·hā mā·ṯə·nê·hem mā·ṯə·ne·ḵā mā·ṯə·nê·ḵem mateNai mateNav māṯənāw māṯənay māṯənāy mateNayim māṯənayim māṯənāyim māṯənê- māṯənehā māṯənêhem matenei mateNeicha mateneiChem mateNeiha mateneiHem māṯəneḵā māṯənêḵem mim·mā·ṯə·na·yim mim·mā·ṯə·nê mimateNayim mimateNei mimmāṯənayim mimmāṯənê ū·mā·ṯə·nāw ū·mā·ṯə·nê ū·mā·ṯə·nê·hem ū·mim·mā·ṯə·nāw umateNav ūmāṯənāw ūmāṯənê ūmāṯənêhem umateNei umateNeihem umimateNav ūmimmāṯənāw vemateNav vemateNeinuLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Genesis 37:34 HEB: וַיָּ֥שֶׂם שַׂ֖ק בְּמָתְנָ֑יו וַיִּתְאַבֵּ֥ל עַל־ NAS: sackcloth on his loins and mourned KJV: sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned INT: and put sackcloth his loins and mourned for Exodus 12:11 Exodus 28:42 Deuteronomy 33:11 2 Samuel 20:8 1 Kings 2:5 1 Kings 12:10 1 Kings 18:46 1 Kings 20:31 1 Kings 20:32 2 Kings 1:8 2 Kings 4:29 2 Kings 9:1 2 Chronicles 10:10 Nehemiah 4:18 Job 12:18 Job 40:16 Psalm 66:11 Psalm 69:23 Proverbs 30:31 Proverbs 31:17 Isaiah 11:5 Isaiah 20:2 Isaiah 21:3 Isaiah 45:1 47 Occurrences |
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