מַקֶּ֫בֶת (maq.qe.vet)
maq.qe.vet
hammer; hole
H:N-FQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-F
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun maqqebet refers to a tool used for striking, specifically a hammer or perforator. It describes the instrument that drives nails and pegs into place, highlighting its function in construction or securing objects. The term appears only twice in the Old Testament, making it a rare word in biblical literature.
In Isaiah 51:1, the word is used in a metaphorical sense to describe the "quarry" or "hole" from which Abraham was cut. Here, the physical act of striking stone with a hammer connects to the idea of excavation and origin. This usage links the tool’s purpose—creating a hole or cavity—to the spiritual concept of being formed or chosen from a specific source.
Translators often render maqqebet as "hammer" when referring to the tool, but in Isaiah, it is better understood as the place where the stone is struck, hence "quarry" or "excavation." The dual meaning reflects the close relationship between the action of hammering and the result: a hollowed-out space. This rare word reminds readers that even ordinary tools can carry deep symbolic weight when applied to God’s creative purposes.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word maqqebet appears in Scripture as both a physical hammer and the quarry from which stone is drawn. In Judges, it is the tool Jael uses to secure a tent peg, an act that ends a tyrant’s reign and delivers Israel from oppression. This image shows how God can use ordinary instruments to bring about justice and freedom.
In Isaiah, the meaning shifts from the tool to the source. Abraham is called to look back to the quarry he was cut from. This reminds us that our origins are not random. We are shaped by a history of faithfulness and chosen by God’s purpose. Even when we feel small or insignificant, we are part of a larger story.
Whether used for judgment or for defining identity, this word points to God’s active hand in shaping events and people. It invites trust that the same God who raises up deliverers also forms us with intention and care.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- the/ hammer1×
- [the] excavation of1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- מַקֶּ֥בֶת1×
- הַ/מַּקֶּ֣בֶת1×
Key Verses
-
Judges 4:21
Then Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and struck the pin into his temples, and it pierced through into the ground, for he was in a deep sleep; so he fainted and died.
This verse identifies the specific tool Jael used to strike the tent peg, highlighting the instrument of divine justice in her deliverance of Israel.
-
Isaiah 51:1
“Listen to me, you who follow after righteousness, you who seek Yahweh. Look to the rock you were cut from, and to the quarry you were dug from.
Here the word refers to the quarry or rock from which Abraham was cut, serving as a metaphor for the faithful origins of God's people.