(Heb. malmad, only in Judg. 3:31), an instrument used by ploughmen for guiding their oxen. Shamgar slew six hundred Philistines with an ox-goad. "The goad is a formidable weapon. It is sometimes ten feet long, and has a sharp point. We could now see that the feat of Shamgar was not so very wonderful as some have been accustomed to think."
In 1-Sam 13:21, 1-Sam 13: a different Hebrew word is used, _dorban_, meaning something pointed. The expression (Acts 9:5, Acts 9: omitted in the R.V.), "It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks", i.e., against the goad, was proverbial for unavailing resistance to superior power.