Sword

chereḇ

We cannot mention the shield without the sword immediately coming to mind, an item with a long history indeed. Before the process of smelting metal was developed, swords were made of stone, bone, or wood. The first metal swords (bronze) were probably known to the Egyptians around 2000 BC (about the time of Abraham). These were followed later by iron and then steel.

With equivalents in several other Semitic languages, chereḇ (2719) appears 407 times in the OT and refers to a sword or “dagger” (also, but rarely, to a “knife or chisel”). The first occurrence of chereḇ is in Genesis 3:24, where a flaming sword guards the Tree of Life; we can only imagine its shape and substance. We then see the short “sickle sword” (Gen. 34:26)—the Egyptian khopesh—which was about twenty inches long with a curved blade in the last several inches that resembled the letter “C,” with the outer edge as the cutting blade. This was probably the primary weapon of the Israelites during the conquest of Canaan. It seems it was the Philistines who then introduced a revolutionary weapon, the long two-edged iron sword, first mentioned in 1 Samuel 17:51.

The sword consistently gives pictures of warfare and conflict, including military conquest (Gen. 31:26; Num. 21:24; Isa. 3:25) and even personal trouble, as “the sword [would] never depart from [David’s] house” because of his sin with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 12:10). The sword is also used often to represent God’s punishment of His erring people (e.g., Lev. 26:25, 33; Isa. 1:20; Jer. 19:7), as well as His enemies (e.g., Jer. 44:13; Ezek. 25:13).

One of the Greek words used some 165 times in the Septuagint to render chereḇ is machaira (3162G), which is also used in Ephesians 6:17 for “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” This was not the rhomphaia (4501G), the heavy broadsword that required only brute strength, rather the quick, deadly short sword used by the skilled, highly disciplined warrior. A well-trained soldier could cut and thrust from any position, even while lying on the ground.

It is, therefore, the Word of God that is the Christian’s sword, for we are indeed in a violent, no-holds-barred war. Each of us must be well-trained in its use and then use it precisely against the attack of Satan. As the “whole armor of God” passage indicates, it is the only offensive weapon we need.

Scriptures for Study: How many principles can you note about the Word of God in Hebrews 4:12?