Bible Dictionary

Metheg-ammah

Bridle of the mother, a figurative name for a chief city, as in 2 Sam. 8:1, “David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines” (R.V., “took the bridle of the mother-city”); i.e., subdued th…

Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)

, subdued their capital or strongest city, viz., Gath (1 Chr. 18:1).

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898) & Schaff's Bible Dictionary

ME'THEG-AM'MAH (curb of the metropolis). This word, in 2 Sam 8:1, is translated in the margin "the bridle of Ammah," and it may be rendered "the bridle or bit of the metropolis," meaning that David subdued the metropolis of the Philistines, probably Gath.

Hitchcock's Bible Names (1869)

bridle of bondage