Snares
Snares [1]
Snares . A cord with running noose ( môqçsh , Amos 3:5 etc.; cf. yâqôsh ‘one who lays snares,’ ‘ fowler ’ Hosea 9:8 ) was used to catch ground game and birds. The fowler also used a net ( resheth, Proverbs 1:17 , Hosea 5:1 etc.), under which he tempted birds by means of food, and then, concealed near by, pulled it down upon them. The pach ( Psalms 124:7 , Proverbs 7:23 , Ecclesiastes 9:12 etc.) probably corresponded to the Arab. [Note: Arabic.] fakhkh , a trap made of hone and gut, with tongue and jaws on the principle of the common rat-trap. It is light, and the bird caught by the foot easily springs up with it from the ground in its vain efforts to escape. Of this Amos gives a vivid picture ( Amos 3:5 ). In later times the fowler used decoys to lure birds into his cage ( Sir 11:30 ). Both môqçsh and pach are several times rendered in Ev [Note: English Version.] by gin. The Nt pagis ( Romans 11:9 etc.), and brochos ( 1 Corinthians 7:35 ), may mean ‘snare,’ ‘net,’ or ‘trap’; whatever seizes one unawares.
W. Ewing.
