What is a…
beam in the Bible
The word “beam” occurs in English Bibles as the rendering of various Hebrew words.
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a weaver’s frame or principal beam
And the shaft of his [Goliath’s] spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed 600 shekels of iron… —1 Samuel 17:7 excerpt
He [Benaiah] had also struck down an Egyptian, an impressive man, 5 cubits tall. Now in the Egyptian’s hand was a spear like a weaver’s beam, but he went down to him with a club and snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. —1 Chronicles 11:23
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a crossbeam, rafter, or girder
For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. —Habakkuk 2:11
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a cross-piece or rafter of a house
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an architectural ornament as a projecting step, threshold or moulding
And he made a porch of pillars; the length thereof was 50 cubits, and the breadth thereof 30 cubits: and the porch was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beam were before them. —1 Kings 7:6 KJV
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a thick beam, thick planks, a canopy or threshold of wood
Hebrew: עָב —transliteration: ab or ob
And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubims and palm trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there were thick planks upon the face of the porch without. —Ezekiel 41:25 KJV
This is an architectural term for a structural shading for the pillars.
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beam
Greek: δοκός —transliteration: dokos —meaning: a stick of timber
In the New Testament, this word occurs only in Matthew 7:3-5, and Luke 6:41-42, where it means (Greek: dokos) a large piece of wood used for building purposes, as contrasted with “mote” (Greek: karphos), a small piece or mere splinter.
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? —Matthew 7:3 KJV
“Mote” and “beam” became proverbial for little and great faults.
More information
- What does the Bible say about weavers and weaving?
- About wood in the Bible
- building
- Houses in the Bible
- mote