Bible Dictionary
TONGS
Tongs were implements used to handle hot objects, especially coals from the altar. In several passages the related term refers more specifically to snuffers used with the lamps of the sanctuary.
Definition
Tongs were implements for taking hold of hot objects. In several sanctuary passages, the related term is more specifically rendered “snuffers,” implements used with the lamps. Tongs could also be made of gold and used to take a coal from the altar.
Biblical Usage
The sanctuary references concern snuffers used with the lamps. Isaiah describes a coal from the altar being taken with tongs, while the account of the Temple mentions golden tongs.
Historical Background
The source distinguishes the sanctuary term from another word in Isaiah 44:12, where “tongs” is revised to “axe” in the description of the smith.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>tongz (melqachayim): This word is, where it occurs in the King James Version and the English Revised Version, with two exceptions, changed in the American Standard Revised Version into "snuffers" (Ex 25:38; Nu 4:9; 2Ch 4:21; see SNUFFERS), The exceptions are 1Ki 7:49, "tongs of gold," and Isa 6:6, "taken with the tongs from off the altar."</p><p>In Isa 44:12, where another word (ma`atsadh) is used, "the smith with the tongs" of the King James Version is changed in the Revised Version (British and American) into "the smith maketh an axe" (compare Jer 10:3).</p><p>See also ALTAR; TOOLS.</p>