"a short sword or dagger" (distinct from No. 2), e.g., Mat 26:47, Mat 1:26-52 and parallel passages; Luk 21:24, Luk 22:38, possibly "a knife" (Field, Notes on the Translation of the NT); Heb 4:12 (see TWO-EDGED); metaphorically and by metonymy, (a) for ordinary violence, or dissensions, that destroy peace, Mat 10:34; (b) as the instrument of a magistrate or judge, e.g., Rom 13:4; (c) of the Word of God, "the sword of the Spirit," probing the conscience, subduing the impulses to sin, Eph 6:17.
<2,,4501, rhomphaia>
a word of somewhat doubtful origin, denoted "a Thracian weapon of large size," whether a sword or spear is not certain, but usually longer than No. 1; it occurs (a) literally in Rev 6:8; (b) metaphorically, as the instrument of anguish, Luk 2:35; of judgment, Rev 1:16, Rev 2:12, Rev 2:16, Rev 19:15, Rev 19:21, probably figurative of the Lord's judicial utterances.
