Axe

Easton, 1897

Used in the Authorized Version of Deuteronomy 19:5; Deuteronomy 20:19; 1 Kings 6:7, as the translation of a Hebrew word which means "chopping." It was used for felling trees (Isaiah 10:34) and hewing timber for building. It is the rendering of a different word in Judges 9:48, 1 Samuel 13:20, 1 Samuel 13:21, Psalms 74:5, which refers to its sharpness. In 2 Kings 6:5 it is the translation of a word used with reference to its being made of iron. In Isaiah 44:12 the Revised Version renders by "axe" the Hebrew maatsad, which means a "hewing" instrument. In the Authorized Version it is rendered "tongs." It is also used in Jeremiah 10:3, and rendered "axe." The "battle-axe" (army of Medes and Persians) mentioned in Jeremiah 51:20 was probably, as noted in the margin of the Revised Version, a "maul" or heavy mace. In Psalms 74:6 the word so rendered means "feller." (See the figurative expression in Matthew 3:10; Luke 3:9.)