Hebrew word · H685

אֶצְעָדָה

'etz'adah

armlet

An arm-band or armlet. It is related to tseʿadah (Isa 3:20), a piece of jewellery often taken to be an ankle- or step-chain (the root ts-ʿ-d means "to step, march"). The word occurs only here and in Num 31:50, where it heads a list of gold ornaments taken as plunder from the Midianites.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

armlet, bracelet, ankle chain

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 2 Samuel 1:10

Range of meaning

An arm-band or armlet. It is related to tseʿadah (Isa 3:20), a piece of jewellery often taken to be an ankle- or step-chain (the root ts-ʿ-d means "to step, march"). The word occurs only here and in Num 31:50, where it heads a list of gold ornaments taken as plunder from the Midianites. In both places it is a valuable metal ornament worn by a man of rank.

Against the English

KJV, WEB, YLT and NASB say "bracelet". BSB and NIV say "band (on his arm)". ESV says "armlet". "Bracelet" now suggests a light piece of jewellery on the wrist. The Hebrew says it was on the zeroa, the arm, and in context it is a royal emblem.

How it drifted

In older English, "bracelet" (from Latin bracchium, "arm") could mean any ornament on the arm. Today it means wrist jewellery, often worn by women, so the royal and military sense has been lost.

Used elsewhere in the period

Assyrian palace reliefs often show kings and high officials wearing armlets on the upper arm, sometimes with rosette designs. The Septuagint renders it chlidōn, a luxury arm or wrist ornament. The Vulgate has armilla, "armlet, arm-ring".

Where it appears

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 31:50 אֶצְעָדָ֣ה an armlet

    So we have brought to the LORD an offering of the gold articles each man acquired—armlets, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.”

    Here: Possibly linked to the root 'to step' (and so perhaps once an ankle band). Elsewhere it is the royal armlet taken from Saul's body (2 Sam 1:10). A man's ornament as well as a woman's.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 1:10 וְאֶצְעָדָה֙ and an armlet

    So I stood over him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

    Here: "And an armlet": a metal band worn on the arm. Kings across the ancient Near East wore these as symbols of rank. The only other place the word appears is the list of plundered gold ornaments in Num 31:50.

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