Topical Encyclopedia
The hammer is a tool mentioned in the Bible, primarily used for construction and craftsmanship. It is a symbol of strength, power, and the ability to build or destroy. In biblical times, hammers were typically made of stone or metal and were essential in various trades, including carpentry and metalwork.
Biblical References:1.
Construction and Craftsmanship: The hammer is first mentioned in the context of construction and craftsmanship. In the building of the tabernacle and later the temple, skilled artisans would have used hammers to shape and fit materials. Although the specific term "hammer" is not always used, the tool's function is implied in the work of craftsmen. For example, in the construction of the tabernacle, skilled workers were employed to create intricate designs and structures (
Exodus 31:3-5).
2.
Symbol of Power and Judgment: The hammer is also used metaphorically in the Bible to represent power and judgment. In
Jeremiah 23:29, the word of God is compared to a hammer: "Is not My word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that smashes a rock?" . Here, the hammer symbolizes the power of God's word to break down resistance and bring about transformation.
3.
Idolatry and False Worship: In
Isaiah 41:7, the hammer is mentioned in the context of idol-making: "The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer spurs on him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, 'It is good.' And he fastens it with nails, so that it will not totter" . This passage highlights the futility of idol worship, as the hammer is used to create objects that cannot stand on their own without human intervention.
4.
Military Use: While not explicitly mentioned as a weapon, the hammer's destructive capability is alluded to in the context of warfare. In
Judges 4:21, Jael uses a tent peg and a hammer to kill Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army: "But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer in her hand, and she went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died" . This act of deliverance underscores the hammer's role in executing divine justice.
Cultural and Historical Context:In ancient Near Eastern cultures, the hammer was a common tool used in various trades. Its presence in biblical narratives reflects its importance in daily life and its symbolic significance. The hammer's dual role as a tool for building and a weapon for destruction illustrates the broader biblical themes of creation and judgment.
Theological Significance:The hammer's representation of God's word and judgment serves as a reminder of the transformative power of divine truth. It emphasizes the authority of Scripture to break down barriers and reshape lives. Additionally, the use of the hammer in idol-making contrasts the living God with lifeless idols, highlighting the futility of worshiping created things rather than the Creator.
In summary, the hammer in the Bible is a multifaceted symbol that conveys themes of power, judgment, craftsmanship, and the contrast between true and false worship. Its presence in Scripture serves as a reminder of God's authority and the call to align with His purposes.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(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 inJudges 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" inJeremiah 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."
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) An instrument for driving nails, beating metals, and the like, consisting of a head, usually of steel or iron, fixed crosswise to a handle.
2. (n.) Something which in firm or action resembles the common hammer
3. (n.) That part of a clock which strikes upon the bell to indicate the hour.
4. (n.) The padded mallet of a piano, which strikes the wires, to produce the tones.
5. (n.) The malleus.
6. (n.) That part of a gunlock which strikes the percussion cap, or firing pin; the cock; formerly, however, a piece of steel covering the pan of a flintlock musket and struck by the flint of the cock to ignite the priming.
7. (n.) Also, a person of thing that smites or shatters; as, St. Augustine was the hammer of heresies.
8. (v. t.) To beat with a hammer; to beat with heavy blows; as, to hammer iron.
9. (v. t.) To form or forge with a hammer; to shape by beating.
10. (v. t.) To form in the mind; to shape by hard intellectual labor; -- usually with out.
11. (v. i.) To be busy forming anything; to labor hard as if shaping something with a hammer.
12. (v. i.) To strike repeated blows, literally or figuratively.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
HAMMERham'-er: The Hebrew maqqebheth, occurs inJudges 4:21, where it refers to the mallet (probably wooden) used to drive tent-pins into the ground. The same word occurs in1 Kings 6:7Isaiah 44:12Jeremiah 10:4 as applied to a workman's hammer. paTTish (compare Arabic, fatis), occurs inIsaiah 41:7Jeremiah 23:29;Jeremiah 50:23. It was probably a blacksmith's hammer or heavy hammer used for breaking rock. There is doubt about the rendering ofJudges 5:26, where the word, halmuth, occurs. From the context, the instrument mentioned was probably not a hammer. InPsalm 74:6, kelaph, is better translated "axes," not "hammers."
SeeTOOLS.
James A. Patch
Greek
4974. sphudron -- the ankle... Neuter of a presumed derivative probably of the same as sphaira (a ball, "sphere";
compare the feminine sphura, a
hammer); the ankle (as globular) -- ancle bone
...5180. tupto -- to strike, smite, beat
... thus differing from paio and patasso, which denote a (usually single) blow with
the hand or any instrument, or plesso with the fist (or ahammer), or rhapizo...
Strong's Hebrew
1989. halmuth -- ahammer, mallet... 1988, 1989. halmuth. 1990 . a
hammer, mallet. Transliteration: halmuth
Phonetic Spelling: (hal-mooth') Short Definition:
hammer.
...4717. maqqebeth -- ahammer
... 4716, 4717. maqqebeth. 4718 . ahammer. Transliteration: maqqebeth Phonetic
Spelling: (mak-kaw-baw') Short Definition:hammer. Word...
6360. pattish -- a forgehammer
... 6359, 6360. pattish. 6361 . a forgehammer. Transliteration: pattish Phonetic
Spelling: (pat-teesh') Short Definition:hammer. Word...
1986. halam -- to smite,hammer, strike down
... 1985, 1986. halam. 1987 . to smite,hammer, strike down. Transliteration: halam
Phonetic Spelling: (haw-lam') Short Definition: beat. Word Origin a prim....
3913. latash -- tohammer, sharpen, whet
... 3912, 3913. latash. 3914 . tohammer, sharpen, whet. Transliteration: latash
Phonetic Spelling: (law-tash') Short Definition: sharpen. Word Origin a prim....
3597. kelappoth -- an axe
...hammer. From an unused root meaning to clap or strike with noise; a club or
sledge-hammer --hammer. 3596, 3597. kelappoth. 3598 . Strong's Numbers.
4718. maqqebeth -- a hole, excavation
...hammer, hole. From naqab; properly, a perforator, ie Ahammer (as piercing); also
(intransitively) a perforation, ie A quarry --hammer, hole. see HEBREW naqab....
3807. kathath -- to beat, crush by beating
... Word Usage battered (1), beat (2), beat them down (1), broke in pieces (1), broken
in pieces (1), crush (1), crushed (4), defeated (1),hammer (2), shattered (1...
7820. shachat -- beat
... Word Origin the same as shachat, qv. beat A primitive root (identical with shachat
through the idea of striking); tohammer out -- beat. see HEBREW shachat....
Library
Psalm XCVIII.
... This ductile trumpet is still under thehammer....We have heard how he was hammered;
let us hear how he soundeth: let us, if it please you, hear the sweet...
Of the vision which a Certain Elder Saw Concerning the Restless...
... in his daily occupations in building and repairing what was unnecessary, he watched
him from a distance breaking a very hard stone with a heavyhammer, and saw...
The Nailing of Jesus to the Cross.
... on the open palm of that adorable hand, which had ever been open to bestow blessings
and favours on the ungrateful Jews, and with a great ironhammer drove it...
Rhoda
... has been touched by the same mighty love as her mistress; and Mary and Rhoda were
kneeling together in the prayer-meeting when Peter began tohammer at the door...
The Stony Heart Removed
... You get the hard stone, especially some sorts of stone which have been hewn from
granite-beds, and you mayhammer as you will, but you shall make no impression...
On Mr. Rudyard Kipling and Making the World Small
... wierdest of earthly elements, the unconquerable iron subdued by its only conqueror,
the wheel and the ploughshare, the sword and the steam-hammer, the arraying...
A Preliminary Discourse to Catechising
... some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the edifying of the body
of Christ; that we henceforth be no more children.' The word is called ahammer...
A Defence of the Doctrine of Justification, by Faith in Jesus...
... His words burn 'like a fire,' and consume the wood, hay and stubble; while they
fell with overpowering weight, as 'ahammer that breaketh the rock in pieces...
Building in Silence
... '. . . There was neitherhammer nor axe nor any tool of Iron heard In the house,
while it was in building.'"1 KINGS 7. The Temple was built in silence....
The Account of the Building of Solomon's Temple Contains Serious...
... The holy house, too, was got ready in peace and was to be built for God without
hammer or axe or any iron tool, that there might be no disturbance in the house...
Thesaurus
Hammer (15 Occurrences)... (3.) Hebrews halmuth, a poetical word for a workman's
hammer, found only in Judges
5:26
... 2. (n.) Something which in firm or action resembles the common
hammer.
...Tools (3 Occurrences)
... (1) The percussion tool was thehammer, used for splitting or trimming stone, beating...
SeeHAMMER. (2) Of cutting tools, the simplest was of course the knife....
Tilt (2 Occurrences)
... 8. (vt) Tohammer or forge with a tilthammer; as, to tilt steel in order to render
it more ductile.... 13. (n.) See Tilthammer, in the Vocabulary. 14....
Temples (17 Occurrences)
... Judges 4:21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a tent peg, and took ahammer in her hand,
and went softly to him, and struck the pin into his temples, and it pierced...
Tent-pin (4 Occurrences)
... Judges 4:21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a tent-pin, and took ahammer in her hand,
and went softly unto him, and smote the pin into his temples, and it pierced...
Pierced (63 Occurrences)
... Judges 4:21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a tent peg, and took ahammer in her hand,
and went softly to him, and struck the pin into his temples, and it pierced...
Pin (10 Occurrences)
... Judges 4:21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a tent peg, and took ahammer in her hand,
and went softly to him, and struck the pin into his temples, and it pierced...
Peg (8 Occurrences)
... Judges 4:21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a tent peg, and took ahammer in her hand,
and went softly to him, and struck the pin into his temples, and it pierced...
Cock (12 Occurrences)
... 16. (n.) Thehammer in the lock of a firearm. 17. (vt) To draw thehammer
of (a firearm) fully back and set it for firing. 18....
Nail (9 Occurrences)
... Judges 4:21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took anhammer in
her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and...
Resources
What is Irreducible Complexity? | GotQuestions.orgWho was Judas Maccabeus? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the menorah? | GotQuestions.orgHammer: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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