SAW (מְגֵרָה, H4490, LXX πριζω, saw). A knife with notched blade or teeth.

The saw was in common use in the near Eastern world. An Egyp. relief from the 5th dynasty (2560-2420 b.c.) shows two carpenters with long saws making planks. It was also one of the familiar implements of the Israelite carpenter or woodcutter (Isa 10:15). Metal and stone as well as wood was sawn. Archeological evidences show 12th-dynasty Egyptians (1989-1776 b.c.) using bronze saws with emery for cutting granite. In the construction of Solomon’s Temple, some of the costly stones were “sawed with saws” (1 Kings 7:9). Sawing was hard work and captives taken in warfare were frequently assigned to it (2 Sam 12:31; 1 Chron 20:3). Because of its difficulty, many ancients preferred to use large stone blocks for building operations. The saw was also an instrument of terrible death (Heb 11:37). The prophet Isaiah is reputed to have suffered martyrdom by being “sawn in two.”