Hebrew word · H3591

כִּידוֹן

kidon

javelin

A weapon. It is often taken as a javelin or short throwing spear, but some identify it as a curved sword (scimitar or sickle-sword). Goliath carried a bronze kidon 'between his shoulders' (17:6). Joshua held out a kidon toward Ai as a signal (Josh 8:18, 26).

Appears 9 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) javelin, short sword, dart

2) gorget, a piece of armour for the throat (1Sa 17.6)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 1 Samuel 17:45

Range of meaning

A weapon. It is often taken as a javelin or short throwing spear, but some identify it as a curved sword (scimitar or sickle-sword). Goliath carried a bronze kidon 'between his shoulders' (17:6). Joshua held out a kidon toward Ai as a signal (Josh 8:18, 26). It appears among the weapons of the war-horse's rider (Job 39:23) and in armies from the north (Jer 6:23; 50:42).

Against the English

KJV 'shield' and YLT 'buckler' come from the Greek aspis and Latin clypeus. Modern versions (BSB, ESV, NIV, WEB) say 'javelin'. A curved-sword reading would give 'scimitar'.

How it drifted

The KJV's 'shield' is a translation inheritance from the Septuagint and Vulgate rather than a drift in English usage. Since Goliath had a separate shield-bearer (17:7, 41), a shield in his hand also fits the scene badly.

Used elsewhere in the period

The War Scroll from Qumran (1QM V, 11–14) describes the kidon as a blade one and a half cubits long and four fingers wide, which is clearly a sword. On that basis Yigael Yadin argued for a sickle-sword like the Egyptian khopesh. Others keep 'javelin' because of Josh 8 and Job 39.

From the study of Jeremiah 50:42

Range of meaning

A hand weapon. Traditionally a javelin or short throwing spear (Josh 8:18, 26, where Joshua stretches out his kidon; 1 Sam 17:6, 45, carried on Goliath's back alongside his spear). Some scholars argue it was a curved sword, a kind of scimitar.

Against the English

KJV says 'lance,' BSB/WEB 'spear,' NASB 'javelin,' and YLT 'halbert' (an axe-spear, an anachronism from the Middle Ages). All of these are guesses at a weapon whose exact shape is uncertain.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Dead Sea Scrolls' War Scroll (1QM 5–6) the kidon is described with a blade and hilt measured in handbreadths, which led Yigael Yadin to identify it as a short sword. Ancient versions disagree. Jerome's Latin often renders it as a shield (e.g. 1 Sam 17:6), and the Greek translators vary from passage to passage.

From the study of Jeremiah 6:23

Range of meaning

A hand weapon held alongside or apart from the bow. It is used of the weapon Joshua stretches out toward Ai (Josh 8:18, 26), Goliath's weapon (1 Sam 17:6, 45), and in Job 39:23 and 41:29 (Eng.). The older lexicons (BDB) give 'javelin, dart'. HALOT keeps 'javelin' but notes a strong alternative: a curved sickle-sword or scimitar.

Against the English

KJV, BSB, NASB and NIV have 'spear'. ESV and YLT have 'javelin'. 'Spear' points English readers to a long thrusting pole, which may not be the weapon meant at all.

How it drifted

Not really drift. The ancient translators were unsure too: the Greek has a hunting spear (zibynē), while the Latin Vulgate has 'shield' (scutum) here and in 1 Sam 17:6.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Dead Sea War Scroll (1QM 5.11–14) the kîdôn is a blade of fixed length with a hilt, so clearly a sword. On that basis Yigael Yadin argued that it was a curved sword, like the Egyptian and Near Eastern sickle-sword (khopesh). Others think the War Scroll shows how the word was used later and not what it meant in the 7th century BCE.

Where it appears

Joshua · 3

  1. Joshua 8:18 בַּכִּיד֤וֹן בַּכִּיד֥וֹן with the javelin

    Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Hold out your battle lance toward Ai, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out his battle lance toward Ai,

    Here: The prefix ba- means "with": literally "make a stretching-out with the kidon". The hand holding the weapon is what goes out (v. 19 says "as he stretched out his hand"). Whether a kidon is a javelin or a curved sword is debated (see studies).

  2. Joshua 8:26 בַּכִּיד֑וֹן with the javelin

    Joshua did not draw back the hand that held his battle lance until he had devoted to destruction all who lived in Ai.

    Here: 'With the kidon': the weapon he was holding out. Its exact type is disputed. It may be a javelin or short spear, or it may be a curved 'sickle-sword' (see the studies). Either way it was a weapon held up high where people could see it.

1 Samuel · 2

  1. 1 Samuel 17:6 וְכִיד֥וֹן and a javelin of

    and he had armor of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.

  2. 1 Samuel 17:45 וּבְכִיד֑וֹן and with javelin

    But David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

    Here: A bronze weapon Goliath carried on his back (17:6). Scholars debate exactly what it was (see the study). It was an attacking weapon, not a shield, and it rounds out a list of three for full effect: 'sword, spear and kidon'.

Job · 2

  1. Job 39:23 וְכִידֽוֹן׃ and a javelin

    A quiver rattles at his side, along with a flashing spear and lance.

  2. Job 41:29 כִּידֽוֹן׃ a javelin

    A club is regarded as straw, and he laughs at the sound of the lance.

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 6:23 וְכִיד֞וֹן and javelin

    They grasp the bow and spear; they are cruel and merciless. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride upon horses, lined up like men in formation against you, O Daughter of Zion.”

    Here: A second weapon, paired with the bow. Traditionally a throwing spear or javelin; some scholars think it was a curved sickle-sword (see studies). Either way, the pair covers killing at a distance and killing up close.

  2. Jeremiah 50:42 וְכִידֹ֞ן and javelin

    They grasp the bow and spear; they are cruel and merciless. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride upon horses, lined up like men in formation against you, O Daughter of Babylon.

    Here: A hand weapon carried along with the bow. It is usually taken as a javelin or short spear (Goliath carries one, 1 Sam 17:6, 45), though some scholars think it was a curved sword. Either way, the pair means an army armed for both distance and close fighting.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.