Goad

Look up goad in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The goad is a

The word is from Middle English gode, from Old English gād.

In Sophocles's Oedipus Rex, Oedipus's father Laius tried to kill his son with a goad when they accidentally met at a crossroads.

Religious significance

Goads in various guises are used as

According to the biblical passage Judges 3:31, Shamgar son of Anath killed six hundred Philistines with an ox goad.

Tischler and McHenry (2006: p. 251) in discussing the biblical account of 'goad' hold:

In the early days, before Israel had its own metal industries, farmers had to rely on the Philistines to sharpen their goads, as well as other metal tools, the plowshares and mattocks, forks, and axes (1 Sam. 13:20).

The image of prodding the reluctant or lazy creature made this a useful metaphor for sharp urging, such as the prick of conscience, the nagging of a mate, or the "words of the wise," which are "firmly embedded nails" in human minds (Ecclesiastes 12:11-12).^[1]

Saint Paul, recounting the story of his conversion before King Agrippa, told of a voice he heard saying ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’^[2] Some versions of the actual account of his conversion earlier in the Acts of the Apostles also use the same phrase.^[3]

In the

We switch sides now and bring the power of Gevurah to the center. Lamed means 'goad' and in particular an ox-goad, as if we use the power of Gevurah to goad that Aleph ox, the silent letter, into a more tangible physical existence in the heart of the tree [of life]. Lamed begins the Hebrew words for both "learn" and "teach," and so encompasses the most Kabbalist of activities, study. Kabbalah has never been a path of pure sensation, but always has used study to goad us into higher consciousness. Lamed, alone of the Hebrew alphabet, reaches above the height of all the other letters. Through learning we extend ourselves above ordinary awareness.[4]

See also

• Crosier
• Ankusha

References