A spear is a weapon carried or used in conflict, but its presence does not determine the righteousness of the person holding it. David names Goliath's sword, spear and javelin while declaring that he comes in the name of the Lord.
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Full entry for חֲנִית (H2595) · Open the biblical lexicon
A spear is a weapon carried or used in conflict, but its presence does not determine the righteousness of the person holding it. David names Goliath's sword, spear and javelin while declaring that he comes in the name of the Lord.
The BSB source-word alignment has 47 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the spear (6), his spear (5), spear (5), with his spear (4), a spear (2).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 1 Samuel 13:19. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Samuel (20), 2 Samuel (9), 1 Chronicles (7), Psalms (3).
A spear is a weapon carried or used in conflict, but its presence does not determine the righteousness of the person holding it. David names Goliath's sword, spear and javelin while declaring that he comes in the name of the Lord. Later, Abishai asks permission to use Saul's spear against the sleeping king, and David refuses the proposed killing. Isaiah announces another use for the material when nations turn spears into pruning hooks under the Lord's judgment and instruction.
The weapon therefore appears beside opposed choices: confidence in armed strength, an opportunity for revenge that is rejected, and a promised end to training for war. Each scene must be heard through the speaker and action around the spear. No modern person receives permission to kill, a guarantee of victory or a prophetic timetable merely from recognizing the weapon in a verse.
Goliath's weapon, Saul's spear within a rejected killing proposal, and spears made into pruning hooks have distinct roles. The accounts place armed strength and human choices beneath their particular declarations about the Lord.
But David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
David names the Philistine's weapons in contrast to coming in the Lord's name, then declares that the Lord's saving action is not dependent upon sword or spear.
Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand. Now, therefore, please let me thrust the spear through him into the ground with one stroke. I will not need to strike him twice!”
Abishai proposes killing Saul with the spear while the king sleeps, but David's next words reject the action and direct taking the spear and leaving instead.
Then He will judge between the nations and arbitrate for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against nation, nor train anymore for war.
Spears become pruning hooks after the Lord judges and arbitrates among nations; the following announcement says nations will no longer take up arms or train for war.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Hebrew word. a lance (for thrusting , like pitching a tent)
a lance (for thrusting, like pitching a tent) BDB: spear Usage: javelin, spear.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Abishai interprets the sleeping Saul as an opportunity supplied by God and asks to finish the matter with a single spear stroke. David does not accept that proposed interpretation. He refuses to destroy Saul, takes the spear and water jug, and leaves, standing at a distance afterward. The scene makes the difference between an opportunity and an authorized action explicit.
Earlier, David's response to Goliath locates confidence in the Lord rather than matching the giant's equipment. Isaiah looks toward nations learning the Lord's ways and reshaping their weapons for cultivation. These passages should not be flattened into praise of aggression or a promise that every risk taken in God's name will succeed. The weapon's meaning is concrete; the moral and theological movement belongs to the stated words, actions and limits of each account.
1Sam.26.8
The Hebrew noun identifies a spear or lance, distinct from the sword and other weapons listed with it. An attempt, a proposed thrust and a reshaped implement are contextual actions around the object; they are not interchangeable ethical meanings built into the noun.
Peter's sword in John 18:10-11 is a different weapon in a Greek arrest account. Jesus' command to put it away must govern that scene; comparison with David's restraint can illuminate rejected violence without making every biblical weapon story one identical command or supplying a present war policy.