אוּד (ud)
ud
firebrand
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 3 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun ud refers to a burning piece of wood, specifically a firebrand or brand. It describes a hot, glowing stick that retains its heat and flame for some time after being removed from the main fire source. This object serves as a portable unit of light or warmth, capable of igniting other materials if brought into contact with dry tinder.
In Scripture, this word appears in only three verses, primarily within the prophetic books of Isaiah, Amos, and Zechariah. The imagery is often used to illustrate sudden destruction or divine judgment. For instance, in Amos 4:11, God compares the fate of Israel to a firebrand snatched from the burning, suggesting that despite being pulled from immediate ruin, the object remains charred and damaged, symbolizing a people who have survived disaster but are still marked by it.
The term highlights the lingering danger and heat of something once part of a larger conflagration. Translators typically render it as "firebrand" or "brand," preserving the sense of a small, intense, and potentially hazardous piece of burning wood. The word carries no abstract metaphorical weight beyond its physical reality: a hot, glowing stick that can burn what it touches.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word ud describes a smoldering piece of wood pulled from a larger blaze. It is hot, damaged, and still dangerous to touch. In ancient times, this image reminded people that survival does not always mean restoration. Even when rescued from immediate destruction, the marks of judgment can remain.
Yet Scripture uses this same image to show God’s mercy. In Zechariah 3:2, Joshua the high priest is called a ud, a burning stick snatched from the fire. Despite his sin and shame, God refuses to let him be consumed. He chooses Jerusalem and cleanses His people. The firebrand becomes a symbol of grace, not just ruin.
This word invites us to look at our own scars with hope. We may feel charred by past failures or harsh seasons. But the One who snatches us from the flames does not discard us. He restores what was broken and makes us new again in His sight.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 3 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- like/ a piece of firewood1×
- a piece of firewood1×
- <the>/ pieces of firewood1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- כְּ/א֖וּד1×
- הָ/אוּדִ֛ים1×
- א֖וּד1×
Key Verses
-
Zechariah 3:2
Yahweh said to Satan, “Yahweh rebuke you, Satan! Yes, Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Isn’t this a burning stick plucked out of the fire?”
This verse transforms the image of a damaged firebrand into a sign of God’s protective grace toward Joshua and Jerusalem.
-
Amos 4:11
“I have overthrown some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a burning stick plucked out of the fire; yet you haven’t returned to me,” says Yahweh.
Here the word highlights how Israel survived judgment but remained spiritually broken because they did not return to God.
-
Isaiah 7:4
Tell him, ‘Be careful, and keep calm. Don’t be afraid, neither let your heart be faint because of these two tails of smoking torches, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.
The reference to smoking torches uses the concept of burning wood to illustrate the fleeting and harmless nature of enemy threats.