1) Heb. pattish, used by gold-beaters (Isa. 41:7) and by quarry-men (Jer. 23:29). Metaphorically of Babylon (Jer. 50:23) or Nebuchadnezzar.
2) Heb. makabah, a stone-cutter's mallet (1 Kings 6:7), or of any workman (Judg. 4:21; Isa. 44:12).
3) Heb. halmuth, a poetical word for a workman's hammer, found only in Judg. 5:26, where it denotes the mallet with which the pins of the tent of the nomad are driven into the ground.
4) Heb. mappets, rendered "battle-axe" in Jer. 51:20. This was properly a "mace," which is thus described by Rawlinson: "The Assyrian mace was a short, thin weapon, and must either have been made of a very tough wood or (and this is more probable) of metal. It had an ornamented head, which was sometimes very beautifully modelled, and generally a strap or string at the lower end by which it could be grasped with greater firmness."
(Picus auratus. Wilson, Ornith.) The popular name of the Golden-winged Woodpecker, the most beautifu...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
In a noisy, furious manner. Thus, 'They went at it hammer and tongs,' is said of persons quarrelling...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.