כַּשִּׁיל (kash.shil)
kash.shil
axe
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun kashshil refers specifically to an axe, a tool essential for cutting wood in the ancient Near East. While common in daily life, its appearance in Scripture is rare, occurring only once in the canonical text at Psalm 74:6.
In that verse, the word describes the instruments used by enemies to destroy the temple’s carved wooden panels. This usage highlights the axe not merely as a farm implement, but as an instrument of deliberate demolition and violence against sacred space.
Translators consistently render kashshil as "axe" or "axes," preserving the concrete reality of the tool. The term carries no metaphorical weight in this context; it serves as a stark, physical detail illustrating the thoroughness of the temple’s destruction.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word kashshil appears only once in the Hebrew Bible, found in Psalm 74. This psalm is a lament where the writer watches the temple of God being destroyed. The enemy uses axes and hammers to break down every carved piece of wood. It is a heartbreaking image of sacred things being reduced to rubble.
Seeing this ancient tool helps us understand the depth of that loss. An axe is not just a generic weapon; it is a specific instrument for cutting and dismantling. Its presence in the text shows how thorough the destruction was. Nothing was left intact, not even the detailed craftsmanship of the sanctuary.
This single mention reminds us that physical places can be lost. Yet, the psalm does not end in despair. It moves from mourning to remembering God’s past faithfulness. We are invited to trust that while human hands can destroy stone and wood, God remains the Creator who sustains all things.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- with/ axe[s]1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- בְּ/כַשִּׁ֥יל1×
Key Verses
-
Psalms 74:6
Now they break all its carved work down with hatchet and hammers.
This verse uses the word to describe the specific tools enemies used to dismantle the temple's wooden structures, highlighting the deliberate nature of the desecration.