Hebrew word · H3913

לָטַשׁ

lotesh

to sharpen

To hammer or whet a blade to an edge, to sharpen. Figuratively, to 'sharpen the eyes' (glare with hostility, Job 16:9).

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated October 31, 2026

What it means

1) to sharpen, hammer, whet

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to hammer

1a2) to sharpen (sword)

1a3) hammerer (participle)

1b) (Pual) to be sharpened

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

Range of meaning: To hammer or whet a blade to an edge, to sharpen. Figuratively, to 'sharpen the eyes' (glare with hostility, Job 16:9).
Against the English: 'Sharp' (KJV, WEB, ESV) describes how the blade is. 'Sharpened' (BSB, NIV) describes what was done to it. The Hebrew passive participle points to the second.
Used elsewhere in the period: Tubal-cain is 'the forger (lotesh) of every cutting tool' (Gen 4:22). God 'will whet his sword' against the unrepentant (Ps 7:12).

Range of meaning: To sharpen, whet or hammer out a blade or tool. It is a craftsman's and warrior's verb.
Against the English: KJV, WEB, YLT and ESV keep 'sharpens his eyes'. BSB: 'pierces me with his eyes'. NIV: 'piercing eyes'. NASB: 'glares'. The literal version keeps the weapon-making picture, while 'glares' keeps only the result.
Used elsewhere in the period: Gen 4:22 (Tubal-cain, 'who forged/sharpened every cutting instrument'); 1 Sam 13:20 (sharpening plowshares); Ps 7:12 (Heb. 7:13), where God 'will whet his sword' against the unrepentant; Ps 52:2 (Heb. 52:4), a tongue 'like a sharpened razor'.

Range of meaning: To hammer or grind an edge onto metal; to sharpen or whet. Used figuratively of a hostile, piercing look ('sharpen the eyes').
Against the English: KJV 'whet' and modern 'sharpen' are both accurate. 'Whet' keeps the sense of working an edge on a stone.
Used elsewhere in the period: Gen 4:22: Tubal-cain is the one 'who forged [lotesh] every cutting tool of bronze and iron'. 1 Sam 13:20: Israelites had to go down to the Philistines to sharpen their tools. Job 16:9: 'my adversary sharpens his eyes against me.' Ps 52:2: a tongue 'like a sharpened razor', using a related form. Septuagint: stilboō, 'make gleam, burnish'.

Genesis · 1

Genesis 4:22 לֹטֵ֕שׁ a sharpener of

And Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, a forger of every implement of bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

1 Samuel · 1

1 Samuel 13:20 לִ֠לְטוֹשׁ to sharpen

Instead, all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshares, mattocks, axes, and sickles.

Job · 1

Job 16:9 יִלְט֖וֹשׁ he sharpens

His anger has torn me and opposed me; He gnashes His teeth at me. My adversary pierces me with His eyes.

Here: The verb for whetting a sword or a cutting tool. The tense here is the imperfect, describing something still going on: God keeps honing his gaze like a blade.

Psalms · 2

Psalm 7:12 יִלְט֑וֹשׁ he will sharpen

If one does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has bent and strung His bow.

Here: 'He will sharpen' or 'he is sharpening': the work of putting an edge on a blade before battle. The open-ended verb form pictures preparation under way, so the blow has not yet fallen.
Psalm 52:2 מְ֝לֻטָּ֗שׁ sharpened

Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.

Here: 'Sharpened': the blade has been deliberately honed. The danger was prepared on purpose. It is not an accident.

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