Easton: Goad
Source: Matthew Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary (1897) (Goad) · external_aligned
(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.
Witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15)
- manuscript_tradition: Original 1897 publication — Thomas Nelson, London
- republication: Project Gutenberg — Easton's Bible Dictionary
- republication: Internet Archive — multiple scans
- republication: CCEL — Easton's Bible Dictionary
- republication: Blue Letter Bible — searchable Easton's