מַחֲרֶשֶׁת
probably a hoe
Definition
The Hebrew noun מַחֲרֶשֶׁת (machăresheth) refers to an agricultural implement, most likely a type of hoe or ploughshare used for breaking up soil. Its single biblical occurrence in 1 Samuel 13:20 describes the Philistines' monopoly on metalworking, forcing the Israelites to go to them to sharpen their agricultural tools. The context strongly suggests a farming tool for tilling the ground. The KJV translates it as 'share,' specifically meaning the cutting blade of a plough. No other distinct meanings are attested in the biblical text.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the Old Testament, in 1 Samuel 13:20. It appears in a historical narrative describing the military and technological oppression of Israel by the Philistines. The verse lists it among other essential iron tools—ploughshares, mattocks, axes, and goads—that the Israelites lacked the ability to sharpen themselves, highlighting their agricultural and economic dependence.
Etymology
מַחֲרֶשֶׁת is a feminine noun derived from the root חָרַשׁ (ḥāraš, H2790), which means 'to cut in, engrave, or plough.' This root connects the idea of carving or incising with the action of ploughing a furrow in the ground. Cognate words in related Semitic languages also refer to ploughing or engraving tools, confirming its association with cutting into a surface.
Semantic Range
While the word itself is a mundane agricultural tool, its use in 1 Samuel 13:20 carries theological significance. It illustrates a period of Israel's disobedience and consequent oppression, as forewarned in the covenant curses (e.g., Deuteronomy 28:47-48). The inability to maintain basic tools underscores their loss of blessing, autonomy, and security, pointing to their need for deliverance and a king who would lead them rightly, a central theme in 1 Samuel.
In the ancient Near East, metal tools like the מַחֲרֶשֶׁת were valuable and essential for subsistence farming. The Philistine control over iron-smithing (1 Samuel 13:19-22) was a powerful military and economic strategy, as iron was superior to bronze for tools and weapons. This context reveals a society where technological advantage directly translated to political dominance and forced subservience, a reality quite different from modern, decentralized tool production.
אֵת (ʾēṯ, H855) — a general term for a hoe or mattock, another digging tool. מַחֲרֵשָׁה (machărēshāh, H4281) — a very similar word, also meaning 'ploughshare' or 'cutting instrument,' from the same root.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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