ENGRAVING (פִּתּוּחַ, H7334, engraving; from verb פָּתַח֮, H7338, engrave). The art of cutting letters or designs into a hard surface.

Mediums used included metal, stone and wood. An engraved plate of gold was worn by Aaron as high priest (Exod 28:36, 37). Designs were engraved as decorations on the bronze stands made for Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 7:29). Precious stones (gems) were engraved with inscrs. (Exod 28:9, onyx or carnelian; also Zech 3:9). There were engravings on the inside walls of the Temple (1 Kings 6:29), made of wood (v. 15), overlaid with gold (v. 21).

A broader term, חָרַשׁ֒, H3086, (Jer 17:1), חָרַת, H3100, (“plow,” “cut”) with the noun חָרָשׁ, H3093, (“craftsman,” “engraver”), is also used for the art of engraving (Exod 32:16, the Ten Commandments on the two tables of stone, NT ἐντυπόω, G1963, “to carve,” 2 Cor 3:7; and Jer 17:1, also on stone). In addition, חָצֵב֒, H2933, (“hew out”) is used to describe an engraving in rock (Job 19:24).

Tools used included stylus (עֵט, H6485), “pen,” “stylus,” of iron (19:24), and iron with a diamond or emery point (Jer 17:1); also חֶ֔רֶט, “stylus” (Exod 32:4 and Isa 8:1), file, wheel, and drill. The drill was attached to a stick which was twisted by the back-and-forth motion of a bow whose string was looped around the stick. Grinding was accomplished with the aid of an abrasive.

Bibliography J. H. Middleton, The Engraved Gems of Classical Times (1891); ANEP (1954); C. Singer, et al. eds., A History of Technology, I (1954), 189, 190, 648, 649, 663-681.