ARM (זְרﯴעַ, H2432; βραχίων, G1098). The word “arm” is used about eighty times in the OT and three times in the NT. Only in rare instances is the word used in a literal sense (Judg 15:14; 16:12). Almost invariably it is used in a metaphorical sense, usually as a symbol of strength and power. In ancient times emphasis was placed upon the accomplishments of human arms. In the Bible the word “arms” is never used in the modern sense of weapons used in war. Since God is omnipotent, the “arm of God” is frequently referred to as a symbol of His might, as in Jehovah’s question addressed to Job, “Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?” (Job 40:9). “To make bare the arm” implies the revelation of strength, as in Isaiah 52:10: “The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” Since a warrior stretches out his arms when he really exerts himself, the “outstretched arm” signifies an exhibition of great power, and the phrase often is used of God in the OT, i.e. when God commanded Moses to say to Israel, “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment” (Exod 6:6). By His outstretched arm God created the earth with men and animals on it (Jer 27:5). Only rarely is God’s arm stretched out for individuals (2 Chron 6:32). Sometimes God’s “holy” arm is exerted, pointing to the righteousness of His acts of power: “O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory” (Ps 98:1). God is sometimes compared to a warrior who smites with his arm: “Thou didst scatter thy enemies with thy mighty arm” (Ps 89:10). The “arm of flesh” symbolizes merely human help, which is weak compared with God’s might: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm” (Jer 17:5). To break the arms of the wicked is to render them powerless (Job 38:15; Jer 48:25; Ezek 30:21). The “withered” arm symbolizes complete powerlessness (Zech 11:17). God’s arm exerted in behalf of His people symbolizes protection: “He will gather the lambs in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom” (Isa 40:11); “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deut 33:27).