Hebrew word · H6096

עָצֶה

he'atzeh

spine

This word appears only here in the Hebrew Bible. Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) give 'backbone' or 'spine', probably the sacrum where the tail joins it. Some link it with ʿeṣem, 'bone'.

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated November 09, 2026

What it means

1) spine, backbone, os sacrum

1a) either spine or os sacrum

1a1) bone close to fat-tail

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Leviticus 3:9

Range of meaning: This word appears only here in the Hebrew Bible. Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) give 'backbone' or 'spine', probably the sacrum where the tail joins it. Some link it with ʿeṣem, 'bone'.
Against the English: KJV: 'hard by the backbone'. YLT: 'over-against the bone'. Modern versions: 'close to the backbone'.
Used elsewhere in the period: The Septuagint seems unsure of the word: instead of a backbone it has 'with the loin muscles' (psoas). Rabbinic tradition (Sifra) worked out the exact cutting point from context.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 1

Leviticus 3:9 הֶעָצֶ֖ה the backbone

And from the peace offering he shall bring a food offering to the LORD consisting of its fat: the entire fat tail cut off close to the backbone, the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat that is on them,

Here: This word appears only here in the Bible. It most likely means the base of the spine where the tail joins it (the sacrum). Its exact meaning is uncertain.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.