Hammer



(1.) Hebrews pattish, used by gold-beaters (Isaiah 41:7) and by quarry-men (Jeremiah 23:29). Metaphorically of Babylon (Jeremiah 50:23) or Nebuchadnezzar.

(2.) Hebrews makabah, a stone-cutter's mallet (1 Kings 6:7), or of any workman (Judges 4:21; Isaiah 44:12).

(3.) Hebrews halmuth, a poetical word for a workman's hammer, found only in Judges 5:26, where it denotes the mallet with which the pins of the tent of the nomad are driven into the ground.

(4.) Hebrews mappets, rendered "battle-axe" in Jeremiah 51:20. This was properly a "mace," which is thus described by Rawlinson: "The Assyrian mace was a short, thin weapon, and must either have been made of a very tough wood or (and this is more probable) of metal. It had an ornamented head, which was sometimes very beautifully modelled, and generally a strap or string at the lower end by which it could be grasped with greater firmness."




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