ξύλων [4 verses](noun pl neut gen) "Staves" is from xylon, which means "firewood", "timber", in the singular, a "piece of wood", "log", "beam", "post"; "cudgel", "club", various wooden instruments of punishment" "wooden collar", "stocks", "gallows", "impaling stakes", "bench", "table",of live wood, "tree", and of persons, "blockhead".  - The Greek word translated as "staves" means "firewood", a "piece of wood", "cudgel", and various wooden instruments of punishment. It also means the "wood" of a treat or of a table. When referring to a person, it means "blockhead". If the people actually had clubs, it probably meant that, but the double meaning is fun.