MOUNTAIN RANGE
Tool with sharp teeth, used to cut wood and stone (1 Kings 7:9; Is. 10:15). There were persecutors who sawed up their victims (Heb. 11:37).
King David brought the Ammonites of Rabbah and other defeated cities into bondage, putting them to work with saws and other implements (2 Sam. 12:31; 1 Chron. 20:3).
The alternative reading of this text, which would have you say that David sawed them, hacked them, etc., in addition to not being demanded by the text itself, would go against everything that is known about this king’s character.
As far as we can tell, the ancient Egyptians had single-handled saws. The blade, usually made of bronze, was inserted into the handle, being attached to it by leather strips. The teeth leaned towards the handle.
The piece of wood to be cut was placed perpendicular to a frame, and sawed from top to bottom. There is no evidence that the Egyptians also sawed stone, which would have been difficult with a single-handled saw. The Assyrians used a double-handled saw, fitted with an iron blade.