(1.) Heb. ma'eder, an instrument for dressing or pruning a vineyard (Isa. 7:25); a weeding-hoe. (2.) Heb. mahareshah (1 Sam. 13:1), perhaps the ploughshare or coulter. (3.) Heb. herebh, marg. of text (2 Chr. 34:6). Authorized Version, "with their mattocks," marg. "mauls." The Revised Version renders "in their ruins," marg. "with their axes." The Hebrew text is probably corrupt. (Isaiah 7:25) The tool used in Arabia for loosening the ground, described by Neibuhr, answers generally to our mattock or grubbing-axe, i.e. a single-headed pickaxe. The ancient Egyptian hoe was of wood, and answered for hoe, spade and pick.
Mattock