This technical term appears in Isaiah 44:13, describing how craftsmen manufacture idols: 'he marks it out with a compass.' The tool enabled artisans to draw perfect circles and curves on wood before carving. Isaiah's detailed description of idol-making becomes satire—the 'god' results from human technique and tools, no more divine than any carpentry project. The compass represents the planned, artificial nature of idol production. What worshipers revere as supernatural power began as lines drawn with a human instrument.