Hinge

(צַיר, tsir, that upon which a door revolves, Pr 26:14; also the pangs of childbirth, Isa 13:8, etc.; also a messenger, Pr 13:17, etc.; פֹּת, poth, lit. zan interstice, put. for pudenda. muliebra, Isa 3:17; fig, female hinges, i.e. the eyes or parts with sockets, 1Ki 7:50). "Doors in the East turn rather on pivots than what we term hinges. They were. sometimes of metal, but generally of the same material as the door itself, and worked in sockets above and below in the door- frame. As the weight of the door rests on the lower pivot, it opens with much less ease than one moving on hinges, particularly when the lower socket becomes worn by the weight and friction." — Pict. Bible, note on Pr 26:14. "In Syria, and especially the Hauran, there are many ancient doors consisting of stone slabs with pivots carved out of the same piece, inserted in sockets above and below, and fixed during the building of the house. The allusion in Pr 26:14 is thus clearly explained. The hinges mentioned in 1Ki 7:50, were probably of the Egyptian kind, attached to the upper and lower sides of the door (Buckingham, Arab Tribes, p. 177; Porter, Damascus, 2, 22, 192; Maundrell, Early Travels, p. 447, 448 [Bohn]; Shaw, Travels, p. 210; Lord Lindsay, Letters, p. 292; Wilkinson, Anc. Egypt. abridgm. 1, 15)." SEE DOOR.