Commonly translated as “very same day” or “selfsame day”, עֶצֶם הַיּוֹם ‘etsem hayom (H6106 + H3117) literally means “bone of the day” and is an idiom of uncertain meaning, but may mean “middle of the day.” This term may compare to מַחֲצִית הַיּוֹם machatsit hayom (H4325 + H3117) in Nehemiah 8:13, “He read from [the book of the Torah of Moses] before the wide place that was in front of the water gate from early morning until the middle of the day (מַחֲצִית הַיּוֹם machatsit hayom)…”
According to etymologist Isaac E Moseson, the term means backbone or middle of the day. “The Chinese root 中 (zhōng) is a reasonable match for the Tzadik-Mem (צֶם) Hebrew bone of contention above, has several relevant meanings. Among these are Middle Finger, Backbone, Center, Core, Noon and Midday. Yes, there is nothing wrong with translating [this term] as “the bone of the day”, once we have the Chinese to teach us that the “bone” (eTZeM) is the middle and strong core (oMeTZ)”
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