פֵּיָה
pe.yah
two-edged
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Biblical Hebrew Analysis: Peyah (פֵּיָה) The Hebrew term *peyah* appears in biblical texts with the meaning "two-edged," describing an object with cutting surfaces on both opposing sides. Based on the available lexical data, this word occurs only once in the biblical record, which significantly limits our ability to establish broader patterns of usage or contextual variation. The singular occurrence of this term suggests it was likely used to describe a specific, notable object rather than a common item. The definition itself is straightforward and physical—referring to a geometric or functional property of an implement or weapon. Without access to the particular verse in which it appears, we cannot determine whether the term was applied metaphorically or literally, nor can we assess how the ancient audience understood its significance relative to other descriptive terms for dual-surfaced objects. The rarity of *peyah* in the biblical corpus makes it a minor term in Hebrew vocabulary. Its presence indicates that biblical authors possessed specialized terminology for describing precisely engineered or distinctive objects, yet the single attestation prevents us from understanding how commonly such description was needed or whether this particular word was preferred over alternatives in Hebrew speech.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence across the text