אָזֵן
a.zen
weapon
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# אָזֵן (Weapon) in Biblical Hebrew The Hebrew word אָזֵן (azen) appears only once in the biblical text, making it one of the rarest weapon terms in the Hebrew scriptures. Its single occurrence provides limited context for determining its precise form or function, though it is classified as a weapon—a tool or instrument used in combat or conflict. The extremely limited attestation of this word presents a challenge for lexical analysis. With only one biblical occurrence, scholars cannot establish whether אָזֵן refers to a specific type of weapon distinct from more common terms, or whether it might be a variant or specialized term for a known weapon. The word does not appear in other ancient Hebrew texts cited in standard lexical databases, further restricting our understanding of its range of meaning or cultural significance. For biblical readers and students of ancient Hebrew, אָזֵן remains essentially a hapax legomenon—a word known from a single instance whose precise identity and significance must remain tentative. Its rarity suggests either that it denoted an uncommon or specialized weapon, or that it represents a term that fell out of usage early in Hebrew's documented history.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence across the text