Bowl

Bowl

is given in the Authorized Version as the rendering of several Heb. Words, the distinction between which is not very clear, and which are often translated by words expressive of different forms. SEE BASIN. It most frequently occurs in connection with the golden candlestick of the tabernacle, the sockets for the separate lamps of which are designated by גּבַיעִ (gebi'a, a cup, Ex 25:31,33-34; Ex 37:17,19-20; elsewhere a drinking-" cup," Ge 44:2,12,16,-17; or wine- pot," Jer 35:5), taken by some to mean ornaments in the shape of the calix of a flower, a sense confirmed by the usage of the term in the cognate languages, and by its expressed resemblance to an almond blossom (in the passage last cited), The words גֹּל and גֻּלָּה (gol and gullah'), used by the prophet Zechariah (iv, 2, 3) in his vision of the candlestick, signify a central reservoir for oil, from which pipes lead to each lamp. The other terms thus rendered are mostly vessels used in the services of the altar; these are, מנִקַּיּות. (menakkiyoth', used for libations, Ex 25:29; Ex 37:16; Nu 4:7; Jer 52:19), together with מזרָק (mizrak') and סֵŠ (saph),both used for sprinkling the sacrificial blood, these latter terms being elsewhere usually rendered "bason." The only remaining word thus translated is סֵפֶל (se'phel, Jg 6:38, a low flat ' dish," as it is rendered in v, 25). SEE CUP; SEE DISH, etc.

Bowls, we may suppose, in the most early times, were made of wood, and of the shells of the larger kinds of nuts, as they are among uncivilized tribes at this day. The art of working in metal was practised by the Hebrews at an early period; this art they learned of the Egyptians during their residence among them. The, "bowls of pure gold" (Ex 25:29) for the service of the sanctuary were most probably vases of elegant workmanship, similar to those we find depicted on the Egyptian monuments. The Egyptian vases were exceedingly elegant, and of various forms (see Wilkinson, Anc. Egypt. abridgm. i, 147-158). SEE BOTTLE. The favorite form of the Egyptian bowl was the lotus, while that of the Hebrews resembled a lily (Nu 7:13; 1Ki 10:21; Jg 5:25). Bowls would probably be used at meals for liquids, or broth, or pottage (2Ki 4:40). Modern Arabs are content with a few wooden bowls. In the British Museum are deposited several terra-cotta bowls with Chaldaean inscriptions of a superstitious character, expressing charms against sickness and evil spirits, which may possibly explain the "divining-cup" of Joseph (Ge 44:5). The bowl was filled with some liquid and drunk off as a charm against evil. See a case of Tippoo Sahib drinking water out of a black stone as a charm against misfortune (Gleig, Life of Munro, i, 218). One of the British Museum bowls still retains the stain of a liquid. These bowls, however, are thought by Mr. Birch not to be very ancient (Birch, Anc. Pottery, i, 154; comp. Shaw, Trav. p. 211). A modern traveller informs us that the bowls and dishes of the modern Arabs are of wood; those of their emirs are not unfrequently of copper, very neatly tinned. At a collation given by the grand emir of the Arabs whom he visited, there were large painted basins and bowls of wood placed before him; their being painted was, without doubt, a mark of honor to distinguish them from the ordinary wooden bowls. The "lordly dish" mentioned in Jg 5:25 was probably something of .this -kind. Similar dishes of the most elegant construction, in bronze, have lately been discovered in the Assyrian ruins at Nimroud (Layard's 2d Expedition, p. 181 sq.). There are also curious relics of this kind found at Babylon, containing Hebrew inscriptions that seem to date them at the time of the Talmudists (ib. p. 513 sq.). SEE VESSEL.

Bible concordance for BOWL.

Definition of bowl

See also the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.

 
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