The Greek noun arotron refers to the plow — the wooden implement with an iron or hardened tip used to break open the soil before sowing. It appears once in the New Testament, in Jesus's demand for undivided commitment to the kingdom.
Jesus's statement about the arotron in Luke 9:62 is deliberately demanding. A first-century wooden plow required the farmer to press forward while looking ahead to maintain a straight furrow. Any turning back resulted in wasted, unplanted ground. Christ uses this common agricultural image to describe the nature of kingdom discipleship: it is a forward-facing, irreversible commitment. The image speaks against the 'one foot in, one foot out' approach to following Jesus — kingdom work requires the same wholehearted, forward-looking devotion as successful plowing. Eyes on the horizon; hand on the plow.