יחזקאל, פרק ל״ט, פסוק ט׳

Following a massive defeat of enemy armies, a new era of peace and security begins where weapons of destruction are transformed into tools of everyday civilian life. The inhabitants of Israel, who did not even need to fight in the battle themselves, will walk out to the battlefield to gather the immense spoils left behind [מלבי״ם]. They will collect the abandoned weapons and use them as firewood. While some commentators view the description of this burning process as a simple repetition for emphasis [רד״ק, מצודת ציון], others draw a practical distinction between the types of fires lit. In this view, one action refers to lighting fires to warm homes, while the other specifically points to heating ovens for cooking and baking [מלבי״ם, רש״י].

These fires will be fueled by the wooden handles and components of various weapons [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The battlefield will be littered with an assortment of armaments [מצודת ציון], including shields and bucklers, which were typically crafted from wood and covered in leather [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. There will also be hand clubs—long wooden poles tipped with iron spikes designed to be thrown at the enemy [מצודת דוד, אברבנאל, ביאור שטיינזלץ]—and spears, which are even larger [מצודת ציון, אברבנאל].

The sheer volume of these weapons will provide enough fuel to keep fires burning for seven years. The primary approach among commentators is that this timeframe illustrates the staggering, unimaginable size of the defeated army. Some explain that the number seven is not meant to be taken literally, but rather serves as a symbolic figure representing a massive multitude [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The supply of wood harvested from these weapons will be so abundant that the people of Israel will have no need to go into the forests to chop trees. Gathering the scattered weapons directly from the ground will be far easier and more accessible [מלבי״ם, אברבנאל].

Beyond using the wood for fuel, the people will take the iron components of the weapons and forge them into useful, everyday tools. In doing so, they will accumulate immense wealth from the very nations that had previously plundered them [מלבי״ם, אברבנאל, צאינה וראינה]. Ultimately, the burning of these weapons symbolizes a profound shift. The people of Israel will no longer need tools of war, because God fights on their behalf. This reality fulfills the ultimate vision in which weapons are entirely eliminated from the world and repurposed for the sake of peace [מלבי״ם].