Bible Encyclopedias

The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia

Hammer

The following designations for "hammer" are found in the Hebrew Bible:

1. "Maḳḳabah" ("maḳḳebet"): A tool or implement used by the stone-cutter for hewing stone (1 Kings 6:7); by the smith in fashioning iron (Isaiah 44:12), or in fastening an idol "that it move not" (Jeremiah 10:4); and by the Bedouin to drive his tent-pin into the ground (Judges 4:21).
2. "Paṭṭish": This word manifestly signifies a larger implement than the maḳḳabah. It was used to smooth gold plates (Isaiah 41:7) and to break rocks in pieces (Jeremiah 23:29). In Jer. 1. 23 Nebuchadnezzar is called "the hammer ["paṭṭish"] of the whole earth."
3. "Halmut 'amelim": A term occurring in Judges 5:26, and of which the meaning is very doubtful. "Halmut" is usually translated "hammer," but the grammatical construction of the word makes a concrete meaning improbable. It is also little likely that "'amelim," which accompanies it, is a derisivedesignation for "workmen." Probably there is a mistake in the text; but it is difficult to see how it might be improved.
4. "Kelappah": A designation found in Psalms 74:6. It is perhaps synonymous with the Assyrian "kalabah" and "kalapati," and seems to designate a kind of ax or hatchet rather than a hammer.