Etsah (עֵצָה, H6097) is a collective noun meaning wood, timber, trees, wooden material. Derived from ets (H6086, tree/wood). It appears primarily in contexts describing timber used for construction or firewood. To be distinguished from the near-identical etsah (H6098, counsel/advice) — same sound, entirely different root. The word appears in Isaiah 40:20 describing the craftsman choosing strong wood to make an idol.
The appearance of etsah (wood/timber) in Isaiah 40:20 sits within one of the most devastating biblical critiques of idolatry: the man who cannot afford gold carves his god from wood, choosing the strongest timber — and worships it. The irony is the point: God needs no material support, no timber frame, no craftsman's skill; He 'sits enthroned above the circle of the earth' (Isaiah 40:22). Yet wood carries redemptive as well as ironic significance throughout Scripture: Noah's ark was built of gopher wood (Genesis 6:14); the Tabernacle was framed in acacia wood (Exodus 26:15); Solomon's Temple in cedar and olive wood (1 Kings 5:8); and most profoundly, the cross on which Jesus died was wood — the tree of judgment and curse (Galatians 3:13) becoming the tree of life and redemption. The material that makes idols also frames salvation. It is never the wood that matters but the One behind it.