Biblia

Sword

Sword

Sword

See Armour.

Fuente: Dictionary of the Apostolic Church

Sword

in the A.V., is the usual rendering of , chereb (from , to lay waste), which was simply a large knife, as it is rendered in Jos 5:2; Eze 5:12. Less frequent words are , retsach, Psa 42:10 [11], a crushing or outbreak (slaughter, Eze 21:27); , shelach (Job 33:18; Job 36:12; Joe 2:8), a dart, as elsewhere rendered; N.T. , a sabre, or long and broad sword (Luk 2:35; Rev 1:16; Rev 2:12; Rev 2:16; Rev 6:8; Rev 19:15; Rev 19:21); elsewhere , a dagger, or short sword. SEE ARMOR.

1. The first mention of this principal offensive weapon in Bible history is in the narrative of the massacre at Shechem, when Simeon and Levi took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly and slew all the males (Gen 34:25). But there is an allusion to it shortly before in a passage undoubtedly of the earliest date (Ewald, 1, 446, note): the expostulation of Laban with Jacob (Gen 31:26). After this, during the account of the conquest and of the monarchy, the mention of the sword is frequent, but very little can be gathered from the casual notices of the text as to its shape, size, material, or mode of use. Perhaps if anything is to be inferred it is that the chereb was not either a heavy or a long weapon. That of Ehud was only a cubit; i.e. eighteen inches, long, so as to have been concealed under his garment, and nothing is said to lead to the inference that it was shorter than usual, for the dagger of the A. V. is without any ground, unless it be a rendering of the of the Sept. But even assuming that Ehud’s sword was shorter than usual, yet a consideration of the narratives in 2Sa 2:16; 2Sa 20:8-10, and also of the ease with which David used the sword of a man so much larger than himself as Goliath (1Sa 17:51; 1Sa 21:9-10), goes to show that the cheireb was both a lighter and a shorter weapon than the modern sword. What frightful wounds one blow of the sword of the Hebrews could inflict, if given even with the left hand of a practiced swordsman, may be gathered from a comparison of 2Sa 20:8-12 with 1Ki 2:5. A ghastly picture is there given us of the murdered man and is murderer. The unfortunate Amasa actually disemboweled by the single stroke, and wallowing in his blood in the middle of the road the treacherous Joab standing over him, bespattered from his girdle to his shoes with the blood which had spouted from his victim!

The chereb was carried in a sheath (, 1Sa 17:51; 2Sa 20:8, only; , 1Ch 21:27, only) slung by a girdle (1Sa 25:13) and restilng upon the thigh (Psa 45:3; Jdg 3:16), or upon the hips (2Sa 20:8). Girding on the sword was a symbolical expression for commencing war, the more forcible because in times of peace even the king in state did not wear a sword (1Ki 3:24); and a similar expression occurs to denote those able to serve (Jdg 8:10; 1Ch 21:5). Other phrases, derived from the chereb, are, to smite with the edge (literally mouth; comp. ; and comp. devour,’ Isa 1:20) of the sword slain with the sword men that drew sword, etc.

Swords with two edges are occasionally referred to (Jdg 3:16; Psa 149:6), and allusions are found to whetting the sword (Deu 32:41; Psa 64:3; Eze 21:9). There is no reference to the material of which it was composed (unless it be Isa 2:4; Joe 3:10); doubtless it was of metal, from the allusions to its brightness and glittering (see the two passages quoted above, and others), and the ordinary word: for blade, viz. , a flame. From the expression (Jos 5:2-3) swords of rock, A.V. sharp knives, we may perhaps infer that in early times the material was flint. Smith. SEE KNIFE.

2. The Egyptian sword was straight and short, from two and a half to three feet in length, having generally a double edge, and tapering to a sharp point. It was used for cut and thrust. They had also a dagger, the handle of which, hollowed in the center, and gradually increasing in thickness at either extremity, was inlaid with costly stones, precious woods, or metals; and the pommel of that worn by the king in his girdle was frequently surmounted by one or two heads of a hawk, the symbol of Phrah, or the Sun, the title given to the monarchs of the Nile. It was much smaller than the sword: its blade was about ten or seven inches in length, tapering gradually in breadth, from one inch and a half to two thirds of an inch, towards the point; and the total length, with the handle, only completed a foot or sixteen inches. The blade was bronze, thicker in the middle than at the edges, and slightly grooved in that part; and so exquisitely was the metal worked that some retain their pliability and spring after a period of several thousand years, and almost resemble steel in elasticity. Such is the dagger of the Berlin collection, which was discovered in a Theban tomb, together with its leather sheath. The handle is partly covered with metal, and adorned with numerous small pins and studs of gold, which are purposely shown through suitable openings in the front of the sheath; but the upper extremity consists solely of bone, neither ornamented nor covered with any metal casing. Other instances of this have been found; and a dagger in Mr. Salt’s collection, now in the British Museum, measuring eleven and a half inches in length, had the handle formed in a similar manner. There was also a falchion called shopsh, or khopsh, resembling in form and name the , or chopper, of the Argives, reputed to be an Egyptian colony. It was more generally used than the sword, being borne by light as well as heavy-armed troops; and that it was a most efficient weapon is evident as well from the size and form of the blade as from its weight, the back of this bronze or iron blade being sometimes cased with brass (Wilkinson, Anc. Egypt. 1, 358).

3. Assyrian swords, like the scepters, as seen on the monuments, were often richly decorated. The hilt was generally ornamented with several lions heads, arranged to form both handle and cross-bar. The scabbard or sheath was elaborately embossed or engraved (Layard, Nineveh, 2, 234).

4. The Greek and Roman sword (gladius, , poet. , , a glaive, by the Latin poets called ensis) hadgenerally a straight two-edged blade, rather broad, and nearly of equal width from hilt to point. The Greeks and Romans wore them on the left side, so as to draw them out of the sheath (vagina, ) by passing the right hand in front of the body to take hold of the hilt with the thumb next to the blade. The early Greeks used a very short sword. Iphicrates, who made various improvements in armor about B.C. 400, doubled its length. The Roman sword was larger, heavier, and more formidable than the Greek (see Smith, Dict. of Antiq. s.v. Gladius). The swords of the most ancient times were made of brass or copper, hardened by some process now unknown; and this continued to be the case long subsequently with the Greeks and Romans, as well as among the Phoenicians (Kitto, Pict. Bible, note at Num 31:8).

5. The sword is the symbol of war and slaughter (Lev 26:25; Isa 34:5; Rev 19:17-18), of divine judgment (Deu 32:41; Psa 17:13; Jer 12:12; Revelation 1, 16), and of power and authority (Rom 13:4). The Word of God is called the sword, i.e. the weapon or instrument, of the Spirit (Eph 6:17).

Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Sword

of the Hebrew was pointed, sometimes two-edged, was worn in a sheath, and suspended from the girdle (Ex. 32:27; 1 Sam. 31:4; 1 Chr. 21:27; Ps. 149:6: Prov. 5:4; Ezek. 16:40; 21:3-5).

It is a symbol of divine chastisement (Deut. 32:25; Ps. 7:12; 78:62), and of a slanderous tongue (Ps. 57:4; 64:3; Prov. 12:18). The word of God is likened also to a sword (Heb. 4:12; Eph. 6:17; Rev. 1:16). Gideon’s watchword was, “The sword of the Lord” (Judg. 7:20).

Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary

Sword

SWORD.In Luk 2:35 and in some passages in the Apocalypse the word for sword is elsewhere in the NT it is . The former denoted a weapon used by barbarous nations, especially the Thracians (Livy, xxxi. 39: Thracas quoque romphaeae ingentis et ipsae longitudinis, inter objectos undique ramos impediebant). It thus appears to have been rather a lance or javelin than a sword, and so may reflect the Hebrew rmah. In the Syr. [Note: Syriac.] of Luk 2:35 the word used is romah, and the phrase is probably a reminiscence of Psa 37:15 (LXX Septuagint ). The word may denote nothing more than a knife or dagger, as in the LXX Septuagint of Jos 5:2-3 of flint knives, but also a sword. The people who came to arrest Jesus were armed with swords and clubs: Jesus followers also had two swords, which Jesus declared to be enough; and one of them (Peter) drew his sword and wounded a servant of the high priest (Mat 26:47-55, Mar 14:43-48, Luk 22:36-52, Joh 18:10-11).

Metaphorically the sword stands as a symbol for war (to fall by the edge of the sword means to die in war), or for a divided state of society (Mat 10:34 I came not to send peace, but a sword [in Luk 12:51 division]). In Mat 26:52 They that take the sword shall perish with the sword, the sword probably denotes the use of physical force generally, although we have also the belief that a tyrant is despatched with the very weapon which he employs against the victims of his tyranny. The expression in Luk 2:35 A sword shall pierce through thy own soul, was sometimes interpreted as a prediction of martyrdom (Epiphanius, Haer. 78).

T. H. Weir.

Fuente: A Dictionary Of Christ And The Gospels

Sword

SWORD.See Armour, Arms, 1 (c).

Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible

Sword

sord. See ARMOR, III., 5.

Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Sword

[ARMS]

Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature

Sword

This is constantly referred to in scripture as the instrument of death, and is mentioned in the N.T. as being borne by the magistrate, Rom 13:4, showing that the gospel does not set aside God’s governmental principle of capital punishment which was enjoined after the flood. Gen 9:5-6. See ARMOUR, ARMS.

SWORD OF THE SPIRIT. This is the word () of God, what His mouth has spoken, and is the only offensive weapon given to Christians with which to fight the Lord’s battles. Eph 6:17. The word () of God is likened to a two-edged sword, Heb 4:12, and the words of the Lord Jesus when He will come forth in judgement on Christendom and the world are compared to a “sharp two-edged sword.” Rev 1:16; Rev 19:15.

Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary

Sword

Used by Gideon

Jdg 7:20

Used by Goliath

1Sa 21:9

Used by Peter

Mat 26:51; Joh 18:10

David’s army equipped with

1Ch 21:5

To be beaten into plowshares

Isa 2:4; Mic 4:3

Made of plowshares

Joe 3:10

Two-edged sword

Heb 4:12; Rev 1:16; Rev 2:12

Figurative:

Of war

Gen 27:40

Of judgments

Deu 32:41; Psa 17:13; Hos 11:6; Zec 13:7

Of the malicious tongue

Psa 57:4; Pro 25:18

Symbolic

Gen 3:24; Jos 5:13; Rev 1:16

Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible

Sword

Sword. See Arms.

Fuente: Smith’s Bible Dictionary

SWORD

Sword is the symbol of war and slaughter, as may be seen in many places of Holy Writ, especially in the Prophets. See Ezek 21. So likewise our Saviour uses it in opposition to peace. Mat 10:34, “I came not to send peace but a sword,” which St. Luk 12:51, expresses by the word division.

Thus the Egyptians, those grent masters of symbolical learning, called Ochus, king of Persia, a cruel conqueror to them, by the name of sword.f1

With the Oneirocritics, a sword is the symbol of authority, power, and increase of offspring.f2

In all sorts of authors innumerable are the places in which the sword is the symbol of death or destruction. Thus in Euripides,f3

.

“The sword shall reach thee, not my nuptial bed.”

The Word of God is often in Scripture compared to a sword; as by St. Paul, Eph 6:17, “And the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” So in Heb 4:12, ” For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. And in Hos 6:5, the Word of God is said to destroy all his enemies: “Therefore have I mowed down your prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgments go out as the light.

Sword is the symbol of the office of magistrate or judge, who have it on solemn occasions carried before them, Rom 13:4, “He is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain,” &c.

My sword shall be bathed in heaven, (Isa 34:5), denotes a prodigious carnage of the princes, the governors, and nobles of the nations, who, in the symbolical style are called heaven, by a metonymy for the host of heaven.

Sword is the symbol of Christ’s power, by which he destroys his enemies, Psa 45:3. In Isa 49:2, our Lord is the speaker: and his words are, “Jehovah hath made my mouth like a sharp sword.” And in Rev 1:16, “Out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword.” Again, Rev 19:15, “Out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations.” See also Rev 19:21.

F1 Plutarch. de Isid. and Osir. p. 394.

F2 Oneir. c. ccxxi. ccxlix. according to the Persian and Egyptian.

F3 Eurip. Helen. ver. 809.

Fuente: A Symbolical Dictionary

Sword

“a short sword or dagger” (distinct from No. 2), e.g., Mat 26:47, Mat 26:51-52 and parallel passages; Luk 21:24; Luk 22:38, possibly “a knife” (Field, Notes on the Translation of the NT); Heb 4:12 (see TWO-EDGED); metaphorically and by metonymy, (a) for ordinary violence, or dissensions, that destroy peace, Mat 10:34; (b) as the instrument of a magistrate or judge, e.g., Rom 13:4; (c) of the Word of God, “the sword of the Spirit,” probing the conscience, subduing the impulses to sin, Eph 6:17.

a word of somewhat doubtful origin, denoted “a Thracian weapon of large size,” whether a sword or spear is not certain, but usually longer than No. 1; it occurs (a) literally in Rev 6:8; (b) metaphorically, as the instrument of anguish, Luk 2:35; of judgment, Rev 1:16; Rev 2:12, Rev 2:16; Rev 19:15, Rev 19:21, probably figurative of the Lord’s judicial utterances.

Fuente: Vine’s Dictionary of New Testament Words

Sword

Deu 33:29 (a) GOD Himself takes this name because He alone is able to guard Israel and to preserve them from their enemies.

Jos 5:13 (b) The man in this passage is the Holy Spirit. The sword in His hand is the Word of GOD. When the sword is with CHRIST, it is in His mouth. He speaks the word, and the Holy Spirit uses it effectively, as the Lord of the harvest.

2Sa 12:10 (b) The reference here is to war with all of its ravaging and killing effects.

1Ch 21:16 (b) Again we see the sword of the Spirit which brings a curse upon the people. This same truth is mentioned in Isa 40:7. The Spirit of GOD punishes and curses just the same as GOD the Father, and GOD the Son.

Psa 7:12 (b) This is a picture of GOD’s judgments by which He will punish men for their iniquities.

Psa 45:3 (a) David desired the judgments of the Lord JESUS CHRIST to be put into effect. He looked forward to the time when CHRIST would take His place as King of kings, and the Lord of lords.

Psa 57:4 (a) The tongue is described as being this sharp, cruel instrument that brings damage and injury to many. Terrible destruction of heart, mind and life are brought about by a cruel tongue which cuts deeply into the hearts of the hearers. (See also Psa 55:21; Psa 64:3).

Psa 149:6 (b) The reference here is to the Word of GOD, the Bible. It does indeed cut down false faith, destroys doubts, and condemns the sinner. (See also Rev 1:16).

Pro 5:4 (a) The lips of a strange woman do indeed cut down and permanently injure many a life. That hurts the heart, destroys the family, and often injures the body. (See Pro 12:18).

Pro 25:18 (a) The gossiping man who carries tales from one to another injures, harms and hurts as the sword hurts the body. The damage is most severe in many cases as he separates friends, and brings hatred into hearts.

Isa 49:2 (a) The words that come from the mouth of our precious Lord are indeed a sharp instrument for bringing consternation to His enemies, and punishment to all His foes. (See also Rev 19:15).

Zec 9:13 (a) This is a wonderful picture of the way that GOD will use Israel as a sharp instrument to fight and subdue His enemies on the earth.

Zec 13:7 (b) In this unusual way GOD describes how He Himself will bring about the punishment of our Lord JESUS on Calvary when He was made sin for us, and was punished in our stead.

Luk 2:35 (a) By this picture we understand the deep sorrow that would pierce the heart of Mary when she saw her Son, her first. born, mistreated, misunderstood, and crucified on the Cross.

Eph 6:17 (a) This type represents the Word of GOD which effectually works in the souls of men. (See also Heb 4:12).

Rev 1:16 (b) The Bible is this sword. It cuts down its enemies, it cuts the attachments of men to their sins, it conquers the enemy, it brings victory to GOD’s people.

Fuente: Wilson’s Dictionary of Bible Types