Meaning of “goad”

1. Goad — (Heb. malmad, only in Judg. 3: 31), an instrument used by ploughmen for guiding their oxen. Shamgar slew six hundred Philistines with an ox-goad. "The goad is a formidable weapon. It is sometimes ten feet long, and has a sharp point. We could now see that the feat of Shamgar was not so very wonderful as some have been accustomed to think." In 1 Sam. 13:21, a different Hebrew word is used, _dorban_, meaning something pointed. The expression (Acts 9:5, omitted in the R.V.), "It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks", i.e., against the goad, was proverbial for unavailing resistance to superior power.

2. Ox goad — mentioned only in Judg. 3:31, the weapon with which Shamgar (q.v.) slew six hundred Philistines. "The ploughman still carries his goad, a weapon apparently more fitted for the hand of the soldier than the peaceful husbandman. The one I saw was of the 'oak of Bashan,' and measured upwards of ten feet in length. At one end was an iron spear, and at the other a piece of the same metal flattened. One can well understand how a warrior might use such a weapon with effect in the battle-field" (Porter's Syria, etc.). (See GOAD »T0001508.)

2 results from Easton's Bible Dictionary

You may wish to look at these similar words...
Gad Gaddi Gate Gath Gath-hepher Gath-rimmon Gittah-hepher Goad Goat Goath God

Bible Search for “goad”

1. Judges Chapter 3 Verse 31 — And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.

2. 1 Samuel Chapter 13 Verse 21 — Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads.

3. Ecclesiastes Chapter 12 Verse 11 — The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

3 results from Bible Search