A verb meaning to wound, bruise, or strike, leaving a visible wound. It describes physical injury — the breaking of skin, the bruising of flesh. Crucially, it appears in Isaiah 53's description of the Suffering Servant: 'he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities.'
The theological depth of patsa is extraordinary. Isaiah's Servant Song (52:13-53:12) uses this and related words to describe a substitutionary suffering that brings healing: the Servant is wounded so that the people are healed. The New Testament sees Jesus as the fulfillment of this prophecy (1 Peter 2:24). The wound that should have fallen on us fell on him. This is not mythology but forensic reality — the transfer of guilt and punishment that is the heart of atonement. Every wound Christ bore in his passion carries this meaning: by his wounds, we are healed.