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בֹץ

𐤁𐤑

bôts

H1206 noun

SILEX Entry

Root בוץ whitish clay, pale fine earth, silt

Definition

A type of clay or mire, specifically a whitish, fine-textured mud or clay, often found in riverbeds or marshy places; the word emphasizes the pale color and fine consistency rather than generic mud, suggesting silt or loam associated with water sources.

Semantic Range

whitish mud, light-colored loam, pale clay, river silt, mire (with emphasis on color/texture rather than stickiness), not generic mud

Root / Etymology

Derived from the root בוץ, which generally relates to fine, pale clay or linen. In this form (בֹץ), it specifically denotes mud or clay with a whitish aspect, likely related to fine silt or loam. The root is also the source for בּוּץ (būṣ), often meaning 'fine linen,' indicating a semantic connection around the idea of fine, pale materials. Morphological similarity may point to a shared concept of color and texture.

Historical & Contextual Notes

בֹץ occurs infrequently in the Hebrew Bible and only in contexts describing surfaces rendered impassible or sullied by water, such as marsh ground or miry places (e.g., Psalm 69:15, Isaiah 57:20). Unlike the more common טִיט (ṭît, 'clay' or 'mire'), בֹץ denotes a lighter, silty substance as opposed to sticky or heavy mud. In comparison, טִיט and יֵן (‘mud’ or ‘filth’ elsewhere) do not carry the same nuance of color or fineness. The term should not be conflated with בּוּץ (būṣ, 'fine linen') in translation, even though both appear related through root meaning. English translations may generically render בֹץ as 'mud' or 'mire,' but these do not capture the specific sense of pale, refined silt implied in the Hebrew. Its use appears limited to poetic or descriptive passages rather than technical or cultic terminology.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

probably the same as בּוּץ; mud (as whitish clay); mire.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

בוץ (b-w-ṣ) — whitish clay, pale fine earth, silt

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H948 בּוּץ bleached fine linen

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H1206-01 בַ/בֹּ֛ץ vabots HRd/Ncmsa in-the-mire whitish clay 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H1206-01 Jeremiah 38:22 בַ/בֹּ֛ץ vabots HRd/Ncmsa in-the-mire whitish clay
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