Bible Dictionaries
Nail

Holman Bible Dictionary

1. Keratinous covering of the top ends of fingers and toes. If an Israelite desired to marry a prisoner of war, she was to cut her nails either as a sign of mourning for her parents or as part of her purification on entering the community of Israel (Deuteronomy 21:12 ). 2 . Metal fasteners used in construction and for decoration (1 Chronicles 22:3; 2 Chronicles 3:9; Isaiah 41:7; Jeremiah 10:4 ). The earliest nails were made of bronze. With the introduction of iron, larger nails were made of iron. Smaller nails continued to be made of bronze. Nails were sometimes plaited with precious metal and nail heads decorated with gold foil when used for ornament (compare 2 Chronicles 3:9 ). The nails used in the crucifixion of Jesus were likely iron spikes five to seven inches long (John 20:25 ). 3 . KJV used nail as an alternate translation for a Hebrew term modern translations consistently render peg (Exodus 35:18; Judges 4:21-22; Zechariah 10:4 ).