H3913 H3913
To hammer, sharpen, whet; used of metalworking, sharpening blades, and figuratively of hostile glaring.
A verb meaning 'to hammer' or 'to sharpen,' rooted in the physical act of striking metal. Genesis 4:22 introduces Tubal-Cain as 'the forger of every instrument of bronze and iron,' using the participle to describe the world's first metalsmith. The practical sense of blade-sharpening appears in 1 Samuel 13:20, where Israelites must go to the Philistines to sharpen their farming tools. Psalms 7:12 warns that God sharpens his sword against the wicked. Most vivid is the figurative use in Job 16:9: the adversary 'whets his eyes against me'—a piercing, hostile glare rendered in Spanish as 'aguza' (he sharpens), capturing the menacing intensity.
Senses
1. sense 1 — To hammer, sharpen, or whet metal instruments, extending figuratively to hostile piercing looks. The Qal participle in Gen 4:22 identifies Tubal-Cain as a 'hammerer/forger' of bronze and iron tools—the archetypal metalworker. In 1 Sam 13:20 the infinitive construct describes the practical necessity of sharpening plowshares and axes. Ps 7:12 uses the imperfect for God sharpening his sword in judgment, while Ps 52:2 (Pual participle) describes a tongue like a 'sharpened razor.' Job 16:9 extends the image figuratively: the enemy 'sharpens his eyes' against the sufferer. Spanish 'afilará' (he will sharpen) and French 'aiguiser' both preserve the concrete metalworking origin. 5×
AR["صَاقِلَ", "لِـ-يَسُنُّوا", "مَسْنُونٍ", "يَشْحَذُ", "يُسِنُّ"]·ben["তিনি-তীক্ষ্ণ-করবেন", "তীক্ষ্ণ", "তীক্ষ্ণ-করে", "ধার-করতে", "নির্মাতা"]·DE["[ילטוש]", "ein-Schärfer", "er-sharpens", "sharpened", "zu-sharpen"]·EN["forger-of", "he-sharpens", "sharpened", "sharpens", "to-sharpen"]·FR["aiguiser", "de-aiguiser", "forger-de", "à-sharpen", "ילטוש"]·heb["ילטוש", "ל-לטוש", "לטש", "מלוטש"]·HI["तेज-करने-को", "तेज-करनेवाला", "तेज़-करता-है", "धारदार", "वह-तेज-करेगा"]·ID["Ia-mengasah", "menajamkan", "pandai", "untuk-mengasah"]·IT["a-sharpen", "divoro'", "forger-di", "sharpens"]·jav["dipun-landhepaken", "ingkang-ngasah", "kangge-ngasah", "mratelakaken", "ngasah"]·KO["갈아-세우나니", "갈으시리로다", "갈은", "만드는-자", "버리려고"]·PT["afiada", "afiará", "aguça", "forjador", "para-afiar"]·RU["изострит", "изощрённая", "кующего", "острит", "чтобы-заточить"]·ES["afilada", "afilará", "aguza", "forjador-de", "para-afilar"]·SW["anakaza", "atauchonga", "kunoa", "mfua-vyuma-wa", "mkali"]·TR["-bilemek-için", "biler", "döven", "keskinleştirilmiş"]·urd["تیز", "تیز-کرانے-کے-لیے", "تیز-کرنے-والا", "تیز-کیا-ہے", "وہ-تیز-کرے-گا"]
Related Senses
G0846 1. third-person pronoun reference (5552×)H???? 1. (4670×)H6213a 1. do, perform, act (2383×)G4160 1. do, act, perform (473×)H5221 1. Hifil: to strike in battle, smite enemies (362×)H0899b 1. garment, article of clothing (216×)H6213a 2. make, construct, fabricate (148×)H3772 1. cut a covenant / make a pact (97×)H5060 1. touch physically (Qal) (96×)H3615 1. complete a task (Piel) (85×)H3772 2. cut off / destroy (Hifil causative) (81×)H3920 1. capture, seize (Qal) (76×)H???? 12. (76×)H3772 3. be cut off / be eliminated (Niphal) (74×)H6213a 3. be done, be made (Niphal) (73×)G4160 2. make, construct, create (62×)H3847 1. Qal: put on, wear (60×)H8210 1. pour out (liquid/libation) (59×)G2440 1. garment or clothing (general) (54×)H4191 4. kill / put to death (Hifil causative) (50×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [לָטַשׁ] vb. hammer, sharpen, whet (NH id., hammer, tap; Aramaic לְטַשׁ, ܠܛܰܫ sharpen; Arabic لَطَسَ strike, tap);— Qal Impf. יִלְטוֹשׁ Jb 16:9 ψ 7:13; Inf. cstr. לִלְטוֹשׁ 1 S 13:20; Pt. לֹטֵשׁ;— 1. hammer, only Pt. = hammerer, sq. כָּל־חֹרֵשׁ Gn 4:22 (J). 2. sharpen sword, חֶרֶב (acc.) ψ 7:13; cf. 1 S 13:20, obj. מַחֲרֶשֶׁת, אֵת, קַרְדֹּם, מַחֲרֵשָׁה; fig. ל׳ עֵינַיִם לִי Jb 16:9 my foe whets his eyes for me. Pu. Pt. תַּעַר מְלֻטָּשׁ ψ 52:4 a sharpened razor (in sim. of evil tongue).