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nı̄f: (1) מ×כלת, ma'ăkheleth, literally, an instrument for eating; but used of large knives for slaying animals, cutting up a carcass or a sacrificial victim (, ; ; ). (2) חרב, hÌ£erebh, rendered generally “sword,†but in , of stone knives for circumcision (compare ), probably of similar knives in , used by Baal prophets in gashing themselves. In the King James Version, “knife,†probably better the Revised Version (British and American), “sword.†(3) תּער, ta‛ar, usually rendered “razor,†in combination with הסּפר, ha-sÌ£oÌ„pheÌ„r, “knife of the writer,†or “penknife†(). (4) מחלפי×, mahÌ£ălaÌ„phı̄m, “slaughter-knives†(). (5) שׂכּין, sakkı̄n, Aramaic, “knife†(). Early knives were commonly made of sharp stones, especially of flint, later of bronze and iron. The-former remained in use in religious ceremonies long after the latter were in common use. Knives were not generally used at meals, meats being cut into bits before served, and bread being. broken into fragments. Herod used a knife for paring apples, and attempted suicide with the instrument (Josephus, Ant., XVII, vii, 1; BJ, I, xxxiii, 7).