HAMMER

ham'-er: The Hebrew maqqebheth, occurs in Judges 4:21, where it refers to the mallet (probably wooden) used to drive tent-pins into the ground. The same word occurs in 1 Kings 6:7; Isaiah 44:12; Jeremiah 10:4 as applied to a workman's hammer. paTTish (compare Arabic, fatis), occurs in Isaiah 41:7; Jeremiah 23:29; 50:23. It was probably a blacksmith's hammer or heavy hammer used for breaking rock. There is doubt about the rendering of Judges 5:26, where the word, halmuth, occurs. From the context, the instrument mentioned was probably not a hammer. In Psalms 74:6, kelaph, is better translated "axes," not "hammers."

See TOOLS .

James A. Patch

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.