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From ISBE: Armor; Arms:

III. Offensive Weapons.

1. Rod:

The commonest weapon in the hands of the shepherd youth of Palestine today is the rod (shebheT; rhabdos), a stick loaded at one end, which he carries in his hand, or wears attached to his wrist by a loop of string, ready for use. It is of considerable weight and is a formidable weapon whether used in self-defense or in attacking a foe. With such a weapon David may well have overcome the lion and the bear that invaded the fold. This shepherd's rod, while used for guidance, or comfort, or for numbering the flock (Psalms 23:4; Leviticus 27:32), was also a weapon with which to strike and punish (Psalms 2:9; Isaiah 10:5; Isaiah 10:15). In this sense it has for a synonym maTTeh (Isaiah 9:4; Ezekiel 7:11), and both came to have the derived meaning of spearheads (shebheT, 2 Samuel 18:14; maTTeh, 1 Samuel 14:27). They may have been the original of the maul or hammer (mephits, Proverbs 25:18; Jeremiah 51:20, where Cyrus, as God's battle-axe, is to shatter Babylon and its inhabitants for the wrongs they have done to His people Israel).

Verses:

• 2 Samuel 23:21
• 1 Chronicles 11:23
• Job 41:29
• Proverbs 25:18
• Isaiah 10:5
• Isaiah 10:15
• Isaiah 10:24
• Jeremiah 51:20
• Ezekiel 39:9
• Matthew 26:47
• Matthew 26:55
• Mark 14:43
• Mark 14:48
• Luke 22:52