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axe, saw

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

Seven Hebrew words so translated. It was of stone or iron, crudely fastened to a handle of wood (Deut. 19:5⁵As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbor to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbor, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live: (Deuteronomy 19:5); 2 Kings 6:5-7⁵But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed. ⁶And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim. ⁷Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it. (2 Kings 6:5‑7)).

“Saws” From Concise Bible Dictionary:

Ancient Egyptian saws have been discovered, and a double handed one was found at Nimrood. They are such as would be used for wood, but there must have been other kinds, for 1 Kings 7:9⁹All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court. (1 Kings 7:9) speaks of stones that were “sawed with saws.” The inhabitants of Rabbah, when conquered by David, were “cut with saws and harrows of iron and axes” (1 Chron. 20:3³And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem. (1 Chronicles 20:3)). They had perhaps thus treated the captives they had taken, and this was God’s judgment upon them (compare Heb. 11:37³⁷They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Hebrews 11:37)).

“Ax, Axe” From Concise Bible Dictionary:

There are seven different Hebrew words translated “ax” or “axe,” with various shades of meaning (Deut. 19:5⁵As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbor to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbor, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live: (Deuteronomy 19:5); Judg. 9:48⁴⁸And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and said unto the people that were with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done. (Judges 9:48); 2 Sam. 12:31³¹And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 12:31); 1 Chron. 20:3³And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem. (1 Chronicles 20:3); Psa. 74:6⁶But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers. (Psalm 74:6); Jer. 10:3³For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. (Jeremiah 10:3); Ezek. 26:9⁹And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers. (Ezekiel 26:9); Matt. 3:10: Luke 3:9⁹And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (Luke 3:9)).

Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew Words:

Number:

4050 (find all occurrences in KJV Bible)

Transliteration:

mgerah

Phonic:

meg-ay-raw’

Meaning:

from 1641; a saw

KJV Usage:

axe, saw

From Manners and Customs of the Bible:

1 Kings 7:9⁹All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court. (1 Kings 7:9). All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws.

When the saw was invented is not known. It is seen on the Egyptian monuments, and also on the Assyrian. The saws referred to in the text were doubtless double-handed, since they were used for sawing stones. A striking peculiarity of the Oriental saw is that the teeth usually incline toward the handle instead of from it, as in the saws used among us.