BEAM

1. Weaver’s beam—round wooden roller on which the cloth or carpet was wound during the weaving process in Bible times. The spears of the giant Goliath (1 Sm 17:7; 2 Sm 21:19; 1 Chr 20:5) and an Egyptian killed by Benaiah, one of David’s mighty men (1 Chr 11:23), were compared to a weaver’s beam.

2. Tree trunk or log that has been squared and used for building purposes. King Solomon used beams and planks of cedar to build the temple (1 Kgs 6:9; 2 Chr 3:7) and his “House of the Forest of Lebanon” (1 Kgs 7:2, 12). Another mention of cedar beams probably refers to their aroma (Sg 1:17).

3. Crossbeam of a Hebrew balance from which the scales were hung by cords.

4. Beam (kjv) or log (rsv) referred to by Jesus (Mt 7:3-5; Lk 6:41-42). Jesus contrasted the beam in an accuser’s eye with the mote (kjv) or speck (rsv) in his brother’s eye.