The hoe is an ancient agricultural tool mentioned in the context of biblical times, primarily used for tilling soil and preparing the ground for planting. While the Bible does not explicitly mention the hoe by name in most translations, the tool's function and significance can be inferred from various passages that describe agricultural practices and the cultivation of land.

Agricultural Context

In the agrarian society of ancient Israel, tools like the hoe were essential for survival and prosperity. The hoe was used to break up the soil, remove weeds, and create furrows for planting seeds. This tool was vital for ensuring that crops could grow in the often challenging terrain of the Near East, where rocky soil and arid conditions required diligent preparation and maintenance.

Biblical References

While the Berean Standard Bible does not specifically mention the hoe, the concept of tilling and working the land is prevalent throughout Scripture. For example, in Genesis 3:17-19 , God tells Adam, "Cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground, because out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return." This passage highlights the labor-intensive nature of agriculture, which would have included the use of tools like the hoe.

In Isaiah 28:24-25 , the prophet speaks of the farmer's wisdom in preparing the land: "Does the plowman plow for planting every day? Does he continuously loosen and harrow the soil? When he has leveled its surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin? Does he not plant wheat in rows, barley in plots, and spelt as their border?" Although the hoe is not mentioned, the process of loosening and harrowing the soil would have involved such tools.

Symbolic Meaning

The hoe, as a tool for cultivation, can also be seen as a symbol of diligence and stewardship. In Proverbs 24:30-34 , the writer observes, "I went past the field of a sluggard and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment. Thorns had grown up everywhere, thistles had covered the ground, and the stone wall was broken down. I observed and took it to heart; I looked and received instruction: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit." This passage underscores the importance of hard work and the consequences of neglect, which would have been well understood by those who relied on tools like the hoe for their livelihood.

Cultural and Historical Significance

In the broader cultural and historical context, the hoe represents the ingenuity and resourcefulness of ancient peoples in adapting to their environment. The development and use of such tools were crucial for the establishment of stable communities and the growth of civilizations. The hoe, therefore, is not only a practical implement but also a testament to human perseverance and the divine mandate to "fill the earth and subdue it" (Genesis 1:28).

In summary, while the hoe is not explicitly named in the Bible, its role in the agricultural life of biblical times is implicit in the many references to farming and land cultivation. The hoe serves as a reminder of the hard work required to sustain life and the spiritual lessons that can be drawn from the diligent care of the land.1. (n.) A tool chiefly for digging up weeds, and arranging the earth about plants in fields and gardens. It is made of a flat blade of iron or steel having an eye or tang by which it is attached to a wooden handle at an acute angle.

2. (n.) The horned or piked dogfish. See Dogfish.

3. (v. t.) To cut, dig, scrape, turn, arrange, or clean, with a hoe; as, to hoe the earth in a garden; also, to clear from weeds, or to loosen or arrange the earth about, with a hoe; as, to hoe corn.

4. (v. i.) To use a hoe; to labor with a hoe.

4576. mader -- a hoe
... mader. 4577 . a hoe. Transliteration: mader Phonetic Spelling: (mah-dare') Short
Definition: hoe. Word Origin from adar Definition a hoe NASB Word Usage hoe ( ...
/hebrew/4576.htm - 6k

5737b. adar -- to hoe
... adar. 5737c . to hoe. Transliteration: adar Short Definition: cultivated. Word
Origin a prim. root Definition to hoe NASB Word Usage cultivated (1), hoed (1). ...
/hebrew/5737b.htm - 5k

4281. machareshah -- a plowshare
... 4280, 4281. machareshah. 4282 . a plowshare. Transliteration: machareshah
Phonetic Spelling: (makh-ar-ay-shaw') Short Definition: hoe. ...
/hebrew/4281.htm - 6k

5737. adar -- to help
... A primitive root; to arrange, as a battle, a vineyard (to hoe); hence, to muster
and so to miss (or find wanting) -- dig, fail, keep (rank), lack. ...
/hebrew/5737.htm - 5k

4282. macharesheth -- share
... Word Origin the same as machareshah, qv. share From charash; probably a hoe -- share.
see HEBREW charash. 4281, 4282. macharesheth. 4283 . Strong's Numbers
/hebrew/4282.htm - 5k

855. eth -- a plowshare
... coulter, plowshare Of uncertain derivation; a hoe or other digging implement --
coulter, plowshare. 854, 855. eth. 855a . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/855.htm - 5k

List of Characters and Places
... mythology. Hotep,"Hoe'-tep, the royal scribe, friend of Kenkenes, brother of
Bettis and Io. ... Kings. Imhotep,"Eem-hoe'-tep, the physician god. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/miller/the yoke/list of characters and places.htm

The "Little Knife" Insurrection
... society. For very many years there has existed in this region a society
by the name of 'Thian-te-hoe,' Heaven and Earth Society. ...
/.../fagg/forty years in south china/vi the little knife insurrection.htm

"Love and I" --A Mystery
... I read once of the plains of India, that they were so fertile that you had only
to tickle them with a hoe and they laughed with plenty, and surely such a text ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 28 1882/love and ia mystery.htm

The Exercises Suited to a Good Life.
... sufficient exercise. And were they to handle the hoe, this stroke of economy
in agricultural labour would not be ungentleman like. I ...
/.../clement/the instructor paedagogus/chapter x the exercises suited to.htm

In Our Last Chapter we Sought to Show that in Rev. . .
... Few American Jews are anxious to emigrate to Palestine when there is nothing
more than a spade and a hoe at the end of the journey. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/the antichrist/in our last chapter we.htm

The Outlaw
... THE OUTLAW. Oh, I wadna be a yeoman, mither, to follow my father's trade,
To bow my back in miry banks, at pleugh and hoe and spade. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/andromeda and other poems/the outlaw.htm

If You Give a Grape to Him when Hungry...
... on to ask what a wheel is, or a sledge, [3555] a winnowing-fan, jar, tub, an
oil-mill, ploughshare, or sieve, a mill-stone, ploughtail, or light hoe; a carved ...
/.../arnobius/the seven books of arnobius against the heathen/23 if you give a.htm

Vexilla Regis Prodeunt -3
... Praedamque tulit tartari. 6. O Crux, ave, spes unica; Hoe Passionis tempore,
Auge piis justitiam Reisque dona veniam. 7. Te summa ...
/.../no 182c vexilla regis prodeunt.htm

Warning.
... The farmer takes his hoe and his spade and his axe, and he cuts away the obnoxious
growths, and burns the roots out of the ground with fire. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/moody/sowing and reaping/chapter viii warning.htm

Choosing the Tens
... Apart from these were the men of Israel, bearded and grave, stalwart and scantily
clad. They repaired a cable or fitted an ax-handle or mended a hoe. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/miller/the yoke/chapter i choosing the tens.htm

Mattock (2 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary. (1.) Hebrews ma'eder, an instrument for dressing
or pruning a vineyard (Isaiah 7:25); a weeding-hoe. (2 ...
/m/mattock.htm - 8k

Hoe (2 Occurrences)
... 3. (vt) To cut, dig, scrape, turn, arrange, or clean, with a hoe; as, to hoe the
earth in a garden; also, to clear from weeds, or to loosen or arrange the ...
/h/hoe.htm - 7k

Hough (1 Occurrence)
... 4. (n.) Same as Hock, a joint. 5. (vt) Same as Hock, to hamstring. 6. (n.) An adz;
a hoe. 7. (vt) To cut with a hoe. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. HOUGH. ...
/h/hough.htm - 7k

Irrigation
... the trenches. In stony soil the breach in the canal leading to a particular
plot is opened and closed with a hoe. Any obstruction ...
/i/irrigation.htm - 9k

Treading (26 Occurrences)
... Isaiah 7:25 All the hills that were cultivated with the hoe, you shall not come
there for fear of briers and thorns; but it shall be for the sending forth of ...
/t/treading.htm - 15k

Dig (24 Occurrences)
... 1. (vt) To turn up, or delve in, (earth) with a spade or a hoe; to open, loosen,
or break up (the soil) with a spade, or other sharp instrument; to pierce, open ...
/d/dig.htm - 14k

Mine (2991 Occurrences)
... usual Egyptian method of mining was to follow the vein from the surface as far as
it was practicable with tools corresponding to our pick and hoe, hammer and ...
/m/mine.htm - 10k

Mining
... usual Egyptian method of mining was to follow the vein from the surface as far as
it was practicable with tools corresponding to our pick and hoe, hammer and ...
/m/mining.htm - 8k

Ploughshare (1 Occurrence)
... 1 Samuel 13:20 And all Israel went down to the Philistines, every man to get his
ploughshare, and his hoe, and his axe, and his sickle sharpened, (DBY YLT). ...
/p/ploughshare.htm - 6k

Plow (11 Occurrences)
... The first plows were probably an adaptation of the ancient Egyptian hoe, where the
handle was lengthened in order that animals might be hitched to it. ...
/p/plow.htm - 15k

Hoe: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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