This word appears in Job's anguished description of his diseased body, where his flesh is clothed with worms 'and clods of dust'—imagery of putrefaction and decay. The Hebrew text preserves two variant readings (Ketiv and Qere) that differ slightly in form but point to the same meaning: hard lumps or clods. The term may relate to rough, frozen, or congealed material (cognate with Arabic words for ice and rough ground). Job's description creates a revolting picture of skin covered with scabbed, crusted matter—clods or lumps of dried discharge mixed with dust, emphasizing his physical degradation.