This masculine noun denotes a deliberate cut or incision made in flesh, appearing in Levitical laws prohibiting pagan mourning practices. Leviticus 19:28 forbids making 'cuts in your flesh for the dead,' referring to the ancient Near Eastern custom of ritual self-laceration during mourning or religious devotion. These incisions were marks of grief or cultic identification, common among Israel's neighbors but prohibited in Torah as incompatible with covenant identity. The practice suggested that the body could be manipulated to appease gods or honor the dead, conflicting with Israel's understanding of the body as God's creation.