Hebrew word · H5402

נֶ֫שֶׁק

nashek

weapon

Weapons, arms, armor (as a collective). In Neh 3:19 it is also the armory where weapons were stored.

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated November 01, 2026

What it means

1) equipment, weapons, armoury

1a) equipment, weapons

1b) armoury

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: Weapons, arms, armor (as a collective). In Neh 3:19 it is also the armory where weapons were stored.
Against the English: Most versions say 'battle', which is the right idiom. YLT's 'day of armour' is closer to the wording and keeps the picture of physical weaponry.
Used elsewhere in the period: 1 Kgs 10:25 (gifts of 'weapons'). 2 Kgs 10:2. Job 20:24 ('iron weapon'). Ezek 39:9-10 (weapons burned after Gog's defeat). Ps 78:9 ('armed with bows'). 'Day of battle' is elsewhere usually yom milḥamah. 'Day of weapons' is an unusual and more vivid variant.

Range of meaning: Weapons or arms as a collective, military equipment in general. Used of an armoury ('house of weapons', 2 Kgs 10:2; Isa 22:8) and of battle gear (Ezek 39:9–10; Job 39:21, the warhorse running to meet 'the weapons').
Against the English: KJV 'armour' meant arms of every kind in 1611, but modern readers think of body armour. BSB, NASB and NIV have 'weapons'. RSV and ESV replace it with 'myrrh', following the Greek.
How it drifted: In older English 'armour' covered both offensive and defensive arms. The narrowing to protective gear is a later development.
Used elsewhere in the period: The Septuagint translates 'stakte' (an oil of myrrh) here, probably reading a similar-looking Hebrew word for an aromatic resin (compare nataf, Exod 30:34). The Chronicles parallel (2 Chr 9:24) and the standard Hebrew text both have 'weapons'.

Range of meaning: Weapons and military equipment in general, an armoury or arsenal (1 Kgs 10:25; 2 Kgs 10:2; Isa 22:8; Ezek 39:9–10), and in one place the battle itself (Ps 140:7).
Against the English: "Weapon" (singular) in nearly all English versions. The Hebrew can mean any kind of weapon or the whole stock of them, so "the iron weapon" stands for hand-held arms in general rather than one particular blade.
Used elsewhere in the period: Ezekiel 39:9–10 lists nesheq together with shields, bows, arrows, clubs and spears as the weapons Israel will burn. The word can sound like the word for "kiss" (also n-sh-q), but most lexicons treat the two as separate words.

1 Kings · 1

1 Kings 10:25 וְנֵ֣שֶׁק and weaponry

Year after year, each visitor would bring his tribute: articles of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

Here: A collective word for arms and military equipment. Weapons sent to a king can signal alliance or submission. The Greek translation read a different word here: see the textual notes.

2 Kings · 1

2 Kings 10:2 וְהַנָּֽשֶׁק׃ and <the> weaponry

“When this letter arrives, since your master’s sons are with you and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city and weaponry,

2 Chronicles · 1

2 Chronicles 9:24 נֵ֣שֶׁק weaponry

Year after year, each visitor would bring his tribute: articles of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

Nehemiah · 1

Nehemiah 3:19 הַנֶּ֖שֶׁק the armory

And next to him, Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory, near the angle in the wall.

Job · 2

Job 20:24 מִנֵּ֣שֶׁק from a weapon of

Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him.

Here: "From" plus a general word for weapons or military equipment. It is linked to the next word, so it means "from the weapon of iron". The picture is the close-range danger of a sword or spear.
Job 39:21 נָֽשֶׁק׃ weaponry

He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength; he charges into battle.

Psalms · 1

Psalm 140:7 נָֽשֶׁק׃ weaponry

O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You shield my head in the day of battle.

Here: 'Weaponry'. It is a collective word for arms and equipment. 'The day of weapons' is an idiom for the day of battle, and it pictures the actual blades and arrows aimed at the speaker.

Isaiah · 1

Isaiah 22:8 נֶ֖שֶׁק [the] weaponry of

He has uncovered the defenses of Judah. On that day you looked to the weapons in the House of the Forest.

Ezekiel · 2

Ezekiel 39:9 בְּנֶ֨שֶׁק with weapon

Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out, kindle fires, and burn up the weapons—the bucklers and shields, the bows and arrows, the clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.
Ezekiel 39:10 בַנֶּ֖שֶׁק with the weapon

They will not gather wood from the countryside or cut it from the forests, for they will use the weapons for fuel. They will loot those who looted them and plunder those who plundered them, declares the Lord GOD.

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