Pilgrim said:
...To suggest that these two swords which the Lord Christ unquestionably approved of and told them to carry with them was to be used for cutting wood, culinary purposes or shaving, etc. is hardly defensible given that these swords were "military" in nature. (see also: TDNT pp. 524-526)
Michaelis' article on MACAIRA in
TDNT (4:524-26) is good, but it does not indicate that the instrument was "military in nature." In fact, he does more than Danker at pointing out its function as a 'knife' for food preparation from the time of Homer. The multi-valency of this word (like virtually all others) is seen in its various occurences in the NT. It can mean a 'dagger' or 'sword' as a military weapon (
cf., Acts 16:27; it was more like a long curved sharp knife with the Greek term ROMFAIA being used for what we normally understand as a 'sword'), 'dagger' or 'knife' (Heb 4:12), symbolically as "bloody conflict" (cf., Mt 10:34), "violent death" (Rom 8:35), and even metaphorically as the "word of God" (
cf., Eph 6:17). Since MACAIRA was extremely common, not all of its basic uses would be explicitely stated in the NT -- in fact, we can expect its most common uses to be understood as common knowledge by the writer.
What distinguishes a butcher knife from a soldier’s dagger is the context in which the implement is used.
Mark J. Fretz, ABD 6:893.
We don't read how they gutted animals in NT times but no doubt a cutting instrument call a MACAIRA was used (from Homer's usage). Contrary to your above statement, I think it would be difficult (if not impossible) to show that the MACAIRA was even
primarily a military instrument.
Peace,
Brent
"Dig deep into God's Word"
