What is a…
mattock in the Bible
Three Hebrew words have been translated as mattock by the King James Bible. A mattock is a hand tool used for digging, prying, and chopping—similar to a pickaxe.
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Hebrew: ma'eder, an instrument for dressing or pruning a vineyard; a weeding hoe
As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the hoe [ma'eder], you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample. —Isaiah 7:25 NASB
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Hebrew: mahareshah (1 Sam. 13:1), perhaps the ploughshare or coulter
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Hebrew: herebh
And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about. —2 Chronicles 34:6 KJV
And in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, even as far as Naphtali, in their surrounding ruins —2 Chronicles 34:6 NASB