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Sickle (2)

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

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SICKLE (δρέπανον).—The crops in Palestine are, to this day, reaped almost entirely with the sickle (Mark 4:29). The scythe is seldom seen save in the hands of a foreigner, and the whirr of the reaping machine is still unknown. δρέπανον is the LXX Septuagint equivalent of two Heb. words חֶרְמֵשׁ and מַגָּל which seem to have been two names for the same thing. The Palestinian sickle is a little longer than our common shearing-hook; the blade describes a somewhat wider curve, and the point, instead of terminating sharply, is slightly turned backward. Sometimes the edge is toothed like a saw, but oftener it is plain and sharp like our own hook. The total length of handle and blade is from 18 to 24 inches.

W. Ewing.