קַשְׂקֶשֶׂת qashqeshet (H7193) is the covering of certain fish and also means the scales of leather armor (cf. 1 Samuel 17:5). In Greek, λεπίδες lepídes (G3013) means “scales” in the sense of a visible covering that can be “peeled” off or removed. In Numbers 16:38, the censers of those who sinned were beaten into scales (G3103) for a covering of the altar. The modern translation of the Greek λεπίδες lepídes is “blades” and from the same origin as the word Λέπρας lépras (G3014) translated as Leprosy from lepo which means “to peel”.
