The title is a figure of speech from the Bible (Daniel 2:33-45) used to indicate a weakness or a hidden flaw in the character of a greatly admired or respected person: Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image ... his feet part of iron and part of clay. ... And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken." The script used to represent a golem's writing in the book is a corrupted form of the Hebrew alphabet made to appear as roman letters, possibly a reference to golems' origins in Jewish mythology.