Hammer

Hammer in Scripture refers to several distinct tools and carries significant figurative weight. The Hebrew pattish was used by gold-beaters and smiths (Isa. 41:7; 44:12), while maqabah denotes a stone-working mallet (Isa. 44:12). The wooden mallet (halamuth) used by Jael to drive a tent peg through Sisera's skull (Judg. 4:21; 5:26) appears in one of the most dramatic passages of the book of Judges. The absence of the sound of hammers during the temple construction reflects a reverent silence in which all stones were pre-cut off-site (1 Kings 6:7).

Figuratively, the hammer is a powerful image in the prophets. Jeremiah uses it twice: once to describe God's word as a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces (Jer. 23:29), and once to designate Babylon as God's war hammer by which he shattered nations—before itself being destroyed (Jer. 51:20–23). The prophetic use of the hammer image captures both the irresistible force of divine judgment and the equally irresistible penetrating power of the word of God.