Original Word: מַגָּל
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: maggal
Pronunciation: mag-gawl'
Phonetic Spelling: (mag-gawl')
KJV: sickle
NASB: sickle
Word Origin: [from an unused root meaning to reap]

1. a sickle

sickle

From an unused root meaning to reap; a sickle -- sickle.

Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
a sickle
NASB Translation
sickle (2).

מוֺלֶ֫דֶת noun feminine kindred, birth, offspring; — ׳מ construct Leviticus 18:9,11; suffix מוֺלַדְתִּי Genesis 24:4 3t.; etc.; plural suffix מוֺלְדוֺתַיִךְ Ezekiel 16:4; מֹלְדֹתַיִךְ Ezekiel 16:3; —

1 kindred Genesis 12:1 ("" ארצך, בית אביך), Genesis 24:4 ("" ארץ), Numbers 10:30 ("" id.), Genesis 31:3 ("" ארץ אבותיך), Genesis 43:7 (all J); "" עַם Esther 2:10,20; Esther 8:6; especially ׳אֶרֶץ מ land of one's kindred Genesis 11:28; Genesis 24:7 (both J), Genesis 31:13 (E), Jeremiah 22:10; Jeremiah 46:16; Ezekiel 23:15; Ruth 2:11.

2 plural circumstances of birth, birth (figurative of origin of Jerusalem) מֵאֶרֶץ הַכְּנַעֲנִי ׳מְכֹרֹתַיִךְ וּמ Ezekiel 16:3, compare Ezekiel 16:4.

3 (female) offspring, one born Leviticus 18:9 (twice in verse), begotten Leviticus 18:11 (all H); collective = issue, offspring מוֺלַדְתְּךָ אֲשֶׁר הוֺלַ֫דְתָּ Genesis 48:6 (P).

מַגָּל noun [masculine] sickle (Arabic (yet possibly Aramaic loan-word Frä¹³³), Aramaic ); — with תָּפַשׂ handle, wield Jeremiah 50:16 ("" זָרַע); with שָׁלַח Joel 4:13 figurative of judgement.

Description

מַגָּל (maggāl) denotes a curved harvesting implement—comparable to the modern sickle or short scythe—crafted from metal and fixed to a wooden handle. Its primary use was cutting ripe grain stalks close to the ground. Because grain reaping was fundamental to Israel’s agrarian economy, the maggāl became an emblem both of routine provision and, in prophetic literature, of decisive divine action.

Agricultural Setting in Ancient Israel

• Harvest Season: Barley ripened first (around April), followed by wheat (May‒June). Reapers would grasp a handful of stalks with the left hand and sever them with the maggāl held in the right, allowing gleaners to gather what remained (Ruth 2:2–3).

• Community Life: The work of the sickle framed the religious calendar. The Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) occurred “from the time you first put the sickle to the standing grain” (Deuteronomy 16:9), tying worship directly to the moment the maggāl touched the crop.

• Care for the Poor: Mosaic law prohibited reapers from stripping a field bare (Leviticus 19:9–10). By limiting how the maggāl was used, God institutionalized generosity and justice within Israel’s agronomy.

Biblical Occurrences of מַגָּל

Jeremiah 50:16 — “Cut off the sower from Babylon and him who wields the sickle at harvest time…”

Joel 3:13 — “Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread the grapes, for the winepress is full…”

These two occurrences stand in passages of judgment, turning an everyday tool into an image of swift, irreversible intervention.

Symbolic and Prophetic Significance

1. Instrument of Judgment
• In both Jeremiah and Joel, the maggāl is brandished not by farmers but by God’s agents, signaling that the season of patient growth has ended and the time for reckoning has come.
• Joel’s oracle couples the sickle with the winepress, blending grain and grape imagery to portray comprehensive judgment on the nations.

2. Certainty and Suddenness
• As the sickle severs stalks in a single motion, so God’s verdict arrives decisively (Jeremiah 51:33).
• The image reappears in Revelation 14:14–19, where the glorified Son of Man “has a sharp sickle,” echoing Joel and confirming the prophetic coherence between Testaments.

3. Harvest as Salvation and Wrath
• While Jeremiah highlights Babylon’s downfall, Joel’s wider context includes promise for Zion’s restoration (Joel 3:16–21). Thus the same sickle that cuts down the wicked clears the field for blessing.

Related Hebrew Terms

ḥermesh (Strong 3115) also means “sickle,” used in Deuteronomy 23:25 and 1 Samuel 13:20. Maggāl appears less often but carries a heavier prophetic weight, while ḥermesh concerns ordinary labor and legal boundaries.

Historical and Technological Insights

• Construction: Early sickles had flint blades set in wooden frames; by the Iron Age a forged iron curve dominated, increasing efficiency and potency as a metaphor for ironclad judgment.
• Storage and Care: Reapers kept the blade sharpened with a stone; dullness risked damage to grain heads (Ecclesiastes 10:10 principle).
• Social Impact: Timely wielding of the maggāl determined a family’s year-long food supply, intertwined with tithes and firstfruits presented at the sanctuary (Deuteronomy 26:1–11).

Theological and Ministry Reflections

1. Urgency of Repentance

Joel’s “harvest is ripe” warns against presuming on divine patience. Preaching can call hearers to reconcile with God before the sickle swings.

2. Assurance of Justice

When oppression seems unending, Jeremiah’s image affirms that God will “cut off” the oppressor. Pastoral ministry can anchor hope in this certainty.

3. Mission Motivation

Jesus likened evangelism to harvest (Matthew 9:37–38). The sickle motif challenges the church to work diligently while it is “day,” anticipating both ingathering and final judgment.

Christological Foreshadows

The prophetic sickle anticipates Christ who will execute perfect justice. The same Lord who invites laborers into the harvest (Matthew 20:1–8) will one day wield the sickle Himself (Revelation 14:15–16), uniting themes of mercy and judgment in His person.

Key References for Further Study

Deuteronomy 16:9; Deuteronomy 23:25; Leviticus 19:9–10; Jeremiah 50:16; Jeremiah 51:33; Joel 3:13; Revelation 14:14–19.

מַגָּ֔ל מַגָּ֖ל מגל mag·gāl magGal maggālInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts