CLUB (klub; see also Armor, Arms). In the OT there are two words which specifically designate a weapon of war.

1. The “maul” (Prov 25:18) or “battleaxe” (Jer 51:20 KJV) is called in Heb. a מַפֵּץ, H5151, LXX ῥόπαλον, which means a war club or cudgel.

2. The “dart” (KJV) or “club” (RSV) is mentioned in Job 41:29. The Heb. word is תּﯴתָח, H9371, LXX σφῦρά, meaning hammer or mallet.

A specially made club for battle purposes seems to have been used as early as 3,500 b.c. in the ancient Near E. The head was a well-shaped stone or ball of metal with a hole through which the handle was thrust. When an adequate helmet was invented the mace became obsolete as a crushing weapon, and the axe was developed to pierce the armor of the enemy. The club then became stylized as a symbol of authority. In the OT this is called a “rod of iron” (Heb. שֵׁ֣בֶט בַּרְזֶ֑ל, LXX ῥάβδῳ σιδηρᾷ Ps 2:9; Isa 10:5; cf. Isa 10:15). The shepherd’s weapon was a wooden club (1 Sam 17:40, 43; Ps 23:4). Compare the ξύλον, G3833, (Matt 26:47, 55; Mark 14:43, 48; Luke 22:52).

Bibliography Y. Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands (1963), I, 11-13, 40-43.