After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox-goad: and he also saved Israel.
1. THAT the ox-goad, still used in Palestine, is a sufficiently destructive weapon if used by a strong and skilful hand, is evident enough from the description which Mr. Maundrell gives of this implement, having seen many of them both in Palestine and Syria: "It was observable," says he, "that in ploughing they used goads of an extraordinary size; upon measuring of several I found them about eight feet long, and at the bigger end about six inches in circumference. They were armed at the lesser end with a sharp prickle for driving the oxen, and at the other end with a small spade or paddle of iron, strong and massy, for cleansing the plough from the clay that encumbers it in working." See his Journey from Aleppo, c., 7th edit., pp. 110, 111. In the hands of a strong, skilful man, such an instrument must be more dangerous and more fatal than any sword.