4621. maatsad
Lexical Summary
maatsad: Axe, chisel, tool

Original Word: מַעֲצָד
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: ma`atsad
Pronunciation: mah-ats-awd'
Phonetic Spelling: (mah-ats-awd')
KJV: ax, tongs
NASB: cutting tool
Word Origin: [from an usused root meaning to hew]

1. an axe

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
ax, tongs

From an usused root meaning to hew; an axe -- ax, tongs.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
an axe
NASB Translation
cutting tool (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
מַעֲצָד noun [masculine] axe; — Jeremiah 10:3; in Isaiah 44:12 probably strike out (so Du CheHpt Skinner).

Topical Lexicon
Term Overview

The Hebrew noun מַעֲצָד (Strong’s 4621) designates a hand-tool used in shaping wood or stone, usually by chopping or paring. Although mentioned only twice, its presence in prophetic critique lends the term a moral weight that exceeds its modest frequency.

Historical Background

Archaeology confirms the widespread use of iron-bladed carpenter’s tools in the monarchic period of Israel. Iron adzes and axes have been unearthed at sites such as Megiddo and Lachish, dating to the eighth and seventh centuries B.C.—the very era of Isaiah and Jeremiah. Such tools were indispensable for constructing houses, furniture, agricultural implements and, tragically, idols. By Isaiah’s day smiths fashioned blades, fitted them to wooden handles, and reheated the iron repeatedly, “wielding his strong arm” (Isaiah 44:12). The prophet deliberately invokes this routine scene to expose the futility of idolatry: the same arm that tires over the forge must later fall prostrate before its own handiwork.

Occurrences in Scripture

1. Isaiah 44:12—A vivid portrayal of the smith laboring over molten metal, forging a god, using the מַעֲצָד to shape it, yet becoming hungry and faint. The passage mocks the contrast between the Creator, who never wearies (Isaiah 40:28), and the craftsman who does.
2. Jeremiah 10:3—Inserted into a referral to “the statutes of the nations,” the prophet describes how “one cuts down a tree from the forest; the work of the hands of a craftsman with a מַעֲצָד.” The tool here is emblematic of cultural religion that starts with raw timber and ends with a lifeless idol.

Theological Significance

Idolatry begins, not with kneeling, but with crafting. By spotlighting the carpenter’s implement, both prophets strip idols of any aura of transcendence. The divine indictment hinges on three observations:
• Idols are material: felled wood, hammered metal (Isaiah 44:13).
• Idols are derivative: made with human skill rather than creating it (Jeremiah 10:9-10).
• Idols are burdensome: their makers grow weary, while the living God “gives strength to the weary” (Isaiah 40:29).

Thus the מַעֲצָד becomes a symbol of reversal. What should assist stewardship of creation is conscripted into rebellion against the Creator (Romans 1:23). The prophets’ sarcasm underscores the consistency of Scripture: the second commandment (Exodus 20:4) is not a sterile prohibition but a safeguard of true worship and human dignity.

Lessons for Ministry Today

1. Discernment in Craft and Culture—Modern technology mirrors the ancient מַעֲצָד. Tools are value-neutral; their moral freight arises from purpose. Believers are urged to channel creativity toward service, not idolatry (Colossians 3:23-24).
2. Weariness as a Spiritual Diagnostic—The exhausted smith in Isaiah 44:12 contrasts the inexhaustible God. Ministry that originates in human ingenuity alone inevitably drains but reliance on the Spirit renews (Galatians 3:3).
3. Exposing the Fabricated—Jeremiah pulls back the curtain on cultural idols. Pastoral teaching should likewise unveil the human origins of today’s false gods—whether materialism, self-image, or political messiahs—and direct hearts to “the LORD, the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King” (Jeremiah 10:10).

Related Biblical Themes

• Creation versus fabrication: Genesis 1; Psalm 115:3-8
• The futility of idols: Deuteronomy 4:28; 1 Kings 18:27; Isaiah 41:7
• The exclusivity of Yahweh: Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5
• Stewardship of craftsmanship: Exodus 31:2-5; 1 Corinthians 10:31

In sum, מַעֲצָד serves as a humble yet potent reminder that the hands that wield the tool must themselves yield to the hands that fashioned them.

Forms and Transliterations
בַּֽמַּעֲצָֽד׃ במעצד׃ מַֽעֲצָ֔ד מעצד bam·ma·‘ă·ṣāḏ bamma‘ăṣāḏ BammaaTzad ma‘ăṣāḏ ma·‘ă·ṣāḏ maaTzad
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Isaiah 44:12
HEB: חָרַ֤שׁ בַּרְזֶל֙ מַֽעֲצָ֔ד וּפָעַל֙ בַּפֶּחָ֔ם
NAS: iron into a cutting tool and does
KJV: The smith with the tongs both worketh
INT: shapes iron A cutting and does the coals

Jeremiah 10:3
HEB: יְדֵ֥י־ חָרָ֖שׁ בַּֽמַּעֲצָֽד׃
NAS: of a craftsman with a cutting tool.
KJV: of the workman, with the axe.
INT: of the hands of a craftsman A cutting

2 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 4621
2 Occurrences


bam·ma·‘ă·ṣāḏ — 1 Occ.
ma·‘ă·ṣāḏ — 1 Occ.

4620
Top of Page
Top of Page