Lexical Summary
mothen: Loins, waist, hips
Original Word:מֹתֶן
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:mothen
Pronunciation:mo'-then
Phonetic Spelling:(mo'-then)
KJV: + greyhound, loins, side
NASB:loins, waist, back, body, heart, herself, hips
Word Origin:[from an unused root meaning to be slender]
1. (properly) the waist or small of the back
2. only in plural the loins
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
Definitionloins
NASB Translationback (1), body (1), heart (1), herself (1), hips (1), loins (32), rooster (1), side (1), strutting* (1), waist (7).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
(Arabic
back,
the two sides of the back, etc.; Syriac
; — absolute
Deuteronomy 33:11 7t.,
Ezekiel 29:7;
Ezekiel 47:4; construct
Jeremiah 13:11 + 3t.; suffix
Isaiah 21:3,
Jeremiah 13:2; 1Kings +
Jeremiah 20:32 4t., etc.; —
loins:1 Kings 2:5;2 Kings 1:8;Jeremiah 13:1,2,4,11;Ezekiel 23:15; figurativeIsaiah 11:5righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins.
— sword girded on (,2 Samuel 20:8;Nehemiah 4:12; opposed to,Isaiah 45:1and the loins of kings I will loosen, i e. will disarm them ( before Cyrus; compare Che); ink-hornEzekiel 9:2,3,11.
loins = make ready for action,1 Kings 18:46; more often2 Kings 4:29;2 Kings 9:1;Exodus 12:11 (P),Daniel 10:5;Jeremiah 1:17.
Proverbs 30:31 that which isgirt in the loins, i.e. probably either agreyhound Ew Bö De (contracted, as if by a belt), or a war-horse, charger, Bo Ges Hi Str Wild (with a saddle); compare also , p. 267 above; text perhaps corrupt (Wild).
(in mourning)Genesis 37:34 (J),Amos 8:10;Isaiah 20:2;1 Kings 20:31,32;Jeremiah 48:37.
Exodus 28:42 (P); to beEzekiel 44:18; loins of slaves are girt with waistcloth, compareJob 12:18 (see also ).
in General of the middle of the body,Ezekiel 47:4 (i.e. water reaching to the loins); so of the appearance of in Ezekiel's visionsEzekiel 1:27 (twice in verse);Ezekiel 8:2 (twice in verse).
loins as seat of strength,Deuteronomy 33:11;1 Kings 12:10 2Chronicles 10:10;Nahum 2:2 ("" );Job 40:16 (of hippopotamus); in combination with (figurative)Proverbs 31:17she girdeth her loins with strength, she puts on energy with her girdle; compare alsoEzekiel 21:11 sighwith breaking of loins, i.e. in entire collapse of strength; soPsalm 69:24and make their loins continually to shake, make them totter; compareEzekiel 29:7 (where read for , see ).
Nahum 2:11;Isaiah 21:3 (as in travail); so probably alsoPsalm 66:11 (compare Bae; and see below ).
Topical Lexicon
Usage in ScriptureThe 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).
2. Physical description, especially the wearing of a belt or sash (2 Kings 1:8;Ezekiel 23:15;Daniel 10:5).
3. Seat of strength and vitality (Job 38:3;Proverbs 31:17).
4. Seat of pain, fear, or judgment (Isaiah 21:3;Jeremiah 30:6;Nahum 2:10).
5. Symbolic locus of righteousness or unfaithfulness (Isaiah 11:5;Jeremiah 13:1–11).
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 (compare1 Peter 1:13).
• Integrity as Support: Just as a belt stabilizes the warrior’s center, so truth and righteousness stabilize the Christian’s walk. A compromised conscience leads to “weak loins” (Isaiah 45:1), but integrity makes one immovable.
• Strength in Weakness: Job’s summons to gird himself confronts every servant of God; only when we face our limitations can we lean on the LORD’s limitless strength.
• Urgency of Repentance: The ruined waistband ofJeremiah 13 warns that when intimacy with God is neglected, life’s very core becomes “good for nothing.” Ministers must call hearers to cling to the LORD as tightly as a waistband to a waist.
• Hope in Messiah’s Rule: Whereas human loins tremble under judgment, Messiah’s loins are forever secured by righteousness. His unshakeable center guarantees the stability of every promise to His people.
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 vemateNeinu
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