used in the Authorized Version of Deuteronomy 19:5 ; 20:19 ; 1 Kings 6:7 , as the translation of a Hebrew word which means "chopping." It was used for felling trees ( Isaiah 10:34 ) and hewing timber for building. It is the rendering of a different word in Jud Judges 13:20 Judges 13:21 , Psalms 74:5 , which refers to its sharpness. In 2 Kings 6:5 it is the translation of a word used with reference to its being made of iron. In Isaiah 44:12 the Revised Version renders by "axe" the Hebrew maatsad , which means a "hewing" instrument. In the Authorized Version it is rendered "tongs." It is also used in Jeremiah 10:3 , and rendered "axe." The "battle-axe" (army of Medes and Persians) mentioned in Jeremiah 51:20 was probably, as noted in the margin of the Revised Version, a "maul" or heavy mace. In Psalms 74:6 the word so rendered means "feller." (See the figurative expression in Matthew 3:10 ; Luke 3:9 .)

These dictionary topics are from
M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition,
published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain, copy freely.