Original Word: מַזְמֵרָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: mazmerah
Pronunciation: maz-may-RAW
Phonetic Spelling: (maz-may-raw')
KJV: pruning-hook
NASB: pruning hooks, pruning knives
Word Origin: [from H2168 (זָמַר - prune)]

1. a pruning-knife

pruning-hook

From zamar; a pruning-knife -- pruning-hook.

see HEBREW zamar

Word Origin
from zamar
Definition
a pruning knife
NASB Translation
pruning hooks (3), pruning knives (1).

[מַזְמֵרָה] noun feminine pruning-knife, only plural וְכָרַת הַזַּלְזַלִּים בַּמַּזְמֵרוֺת Isaiah 18:5; לְמַזְמֵרוֺת Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3 (both "" לְאִתִּים); וּמַזְמֵרֹתֵיכֶם Joel 4:1("" אִתֵּיכֶם).

Definition and Agricultural Background

מַזְמֵרָה designates a curved pruning hook or knife used by ancient Israelite vinedressers to cut shoots, remove excess growth, and shape vines for maximum fruitfulness. The tool’s sharp inward-bent blade made it ideal for reaching into dense foliage without damaging the desired clusters. Because viticulture was central to the agrarian economy, the pruning hook became a familiar household implement, readily available as a metaphor in prophetic proclamation.

Occurrences in Scripture

1. Isaiah 2:4
2. Isaiah 18:5
3. Joel 3:10
4. Micah 4:3

Though few in number, these occurrences span both the promise of universal peace and the summons to divine judgment, demonstrating the versatility of the image.

Pruning Hook as Symbol of Peace

Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3 picture the coming reign of the LORD when “They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will take up sword against nation, and they will train for war no more”. The transformation of weapons into farming tools conveys:
• Permanent cessation of hostility—military technology re-purposed for cultivation.
• Economic renewal—resources once squandered on war redirected to nurture life.
• Messianic authority—peace is not negotiated but imposed by the righteous Judge who “will mediate for many peoples.”

Pruning Hook as Symbol of Mobilization for Judgment

Joel 3:10 reverses the image: “Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, ‘I am strong!’”. Here the nations prepare to face the LORD in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The same agricultural implements become improvised weapons, underscoring:
• The urgency of divine summons—even ordinary tools must be converted for battle.
• The totality of enlistment—no one, not even “the weak,” is exempt.
• The inevitability of reckoning—humanity will meet God either in peace (Isaiah, Micah) or in war (Joel), depending on its stance toward His rule.

Pruning Imagery and Divine Cultivation

Isaiah 18:5 returns to literal viticulture: “He will cut off the shoots with pruning knives and will remove and discard the branches”. The verse depicts the LORD’s timely intervention in history, trimming prideful nations before their ambitions ripen. The pruning hook thus speaks of:
• Precision—God removes only what hinders fruitfulness.
• Prevention—judgment can halt destructive growth before full maturity.
• Purity—the discarding of unproductive branches anticipates New Testament teaching on abiding and fruit-bearing (see John 15).

Prophetic and Eschatological Implications

Taken together, the four texts trace a redemptive arc:
• Present pruning of nations (Isaiah 18:5)
• Imminent war of judgment (Joel 3:10)
• Ultimate shalom under the Messiah (Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3)

The pruning hook therefore functions both as a tool in the vinedresser’s hand and as an eschatological signpost, anchoring hope in the certainty that the LORD will prune, judge, and finally restore.

Practical Applications for Preaching and Discipleship

• Call to surrender: Invite hearers to yield their “shoots” to God’s pruning for greater fruitfulness.
• Vision of peace: Encourage reconciliation ministries by grounding them in the prophetic assurance that peace is God’s final word.
• Warning of judgment: Balance hope with the sobriety of Joel 3, urging readiness for Christ’s return.
• Stewardship: Illustrate the biblical ethic of transforming resources from destructive to productive purposes.

Related Concepts and Further Study

Plowshare (share of the plow), Spear, Vine-dressing, Day of the LORD, Messianic Kingdom, Spiritual Fruitfulness.

Concluding Summary

מַזְמֵרָה, though a simple vine-dresser’s hook, cuts a broad swath through Scripture—pruning in the present, arming in judgment, and cultivating everlasting peace. Its four appearances encapsulate the Bible’s grand movement from corruption to cleansing to consummation, assuring believers that the God who trims the vine will also turn the weapons of this world into instruments of abundance under the reign of His Son.

בַּמַּזְמֵר֔וֹת במזמרות וּמַזְמְרֹֽתֵיכֶ֖ם ומזמרתיכם לְמַזְמֵר֔וֹת למזמרות bam·maz·mê·rō·wṯ bammazmeRot bammazmêrōwṯ lə·maz·mê·rō·wṯ lemazmeRot ləmazmêrōwṯ ū·maz·mə·rō·ṯê·ḵem umazmeroteiChem ūmazmərōṯêḵemInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts