


PLOW, PLOWSHARE (חָרַשׁ, H3086, to plow, till; אֵת, H908, hoe, plowshare; ἄροτρον, G770, a plow). An implement for tilling the soil. See [[Agriculture]].

The noun אֵת, H908, as a tool for digging or grubbing may be roughly similar to a hoe or mattock. The expression “beat their swords into plowshares” (Isa 2:4; Mic 4:3; Joel 3:10) conveys the advent of peace with the resumption of agricultural pursuits. The Gr. ἄροτρον, G770, is found only in Luke 9:62 and appears to mean the whole implement.

The verb חָרַשׁ, H3086, means “to plow” or “to engrave.” It is applied literally (Deut 22:10; 1 Kings 19:19; and Prov 20:4), and fig. (Job 4:8; Hosea 10:13). Plowing the sea is an example of the absurd (Amos 6:12). In the time of David, iron plows were in wide use.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)

No implement of the Bible is more frequently illustrated today than the plow. This is partly because there is every reason to believe that the plows still used throughout Egypt, Pa