Line
Line
(represented by the following terms in the original: , che’bel, a measuring-line, 2Sa 8:2; Amo 7:17; hence a portion as divided out by a line, Psa 16:6; elsewhere cord,” “portion,” etc. or , kav, a measuring-line, Isa 34:17; Eze 47:3; either for construction, Job 38:5; Isa 44:13; Jer 31:39; Zec 1:16, or for destruction, 2Ki 21:13; Lam 2:8; Isa 34:11; metaph., a rule or norm, Isa 28:17; Isa 28:10; Isa 28:13; like the Gr. , 2Co 10:13; 2Co 10:15-16; Gal 6:16; Php 3:16; also the rim, e.g. of a laver, 1Ki 7:23; 2Ch 4:2; or string of a musical instrument, put for sound, q.d. accord, Psa 19:4; where Sept. , and so Rom 10:18, Vulg. sonus; once, strength, Isa 18:2, where “a nation meted out” should be rendered a most mighty nation: in three of the above passages, 1Ki 7:23; Jer 31:39; Zec 1:16, the text reads , ke’veh, of the same import; and in Jos 2:18; Jos 2:21, occurs , tikvah’, a cord, from the same root. Other terms less proper are: , chut, a thread, for measuring a circumference, 1Ki 7:15; “fillets,” Jer 52:21; elsewhere generally a “thread.” , pathil’, a cord, for measuring length, Eze 40:3; elsewhere a “thread,” “lace,” etc., especially the string for suspending the signet-ring in the bosom, rendered “bracelets” in Gen 38:18; Gen 38:25. , se’red, the awl or stylus with which an artist graves the sketch of a figure in outline, to be afterwards sculptured in full, Isa 44:13). There can be little doubt that the Hebrews acquired the art of measuring land from the ancient Egyptians, with whom it was early prevalent (Wilkinson’s Anc. Egypt. 2:256). In Jos 18:9 we read, “And the men went out and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book, and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh.” These circumstances clearly indicate that a survey of the whole country was made, and the results entered carefully in a book (see Kitto’s Daily Bible Illust. ad loc.). This appears to be the earliest example of a topographical survey on record, and it proves that there must have been some knowledge of mensuration among the Hebrews, as is moreover evinced by the other topographical details in the book of Joshua.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Line
LINE.1. qaw, which is of most frequent occurrence, is properly a measuring line (e.g. Jer 31:39, Eze 47:3, Zec 1:16). Figuratively it denotes a rule of life (cf. precept upon precept, line upon line of Isaiahs teaching, Isa 28:10). Psa 19:4 their line is gone out through all the earth has been variously interpreted. The LXX [Note: Septuagint.] , taking the line to be a resonant cord, rendered by phthonggosa musical sound, and St. Paul quotes that version in Rom 10:18 (EV [Note: English Version.] sound). More probably, however, the idea is still that of a measuring line. Cf. Perowne (Psalms, in toc.), who gives line or boundaryas the heavens seems to measure and mark out the earth (whence the term horizon or boundary). 2. hebhel, a rope or cord, esp. a measuring cord used in measuring and dividing land (cf. Psa 78:55, Amo 7:17, Zec 2:1). The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places (Psa 16:6) alludes to the marking out of plots of land with a measuring cord. 3. tiqwh (fr. the same root as qaw) is used of the cord of scarlet thread that Rahab bound in the window (Jos 2:18; Jos 2:21). 4. cht, properly a sewing-thread, only in 1Ki 7:15; 1Ki 7:5. pthl, a string or cord, only in Eze 40:3; Eze 40:6. seredh in Isa 44:13 is misrendered line, for which RV [Note: Revised Version.] gives pencil, RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] red ochre. 7. In NT line occurs only in AV [Note: Authorized Version.] of 2Co 10:18. The Gr. word is kann, a measuring rod (AVm [Note: Authorized Version margin.] rule, RV [Note: Revised Version.] province, RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] limit), and so, figuratively, a rule. Probably the Apostles idea is that of a measuring line, as defining the boundary between his own province and anothers.
J. C. Lambert.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Line
ln (, kaw, , hebhel): Usually of a measuring line, as Jer 31:39; Eze 47:3; Zec 1:16 (kaw); Psa 78:55; Amo 7:17; Zec 2:1 (hebhel). Other Hebrew words mean simply a cord or thread (Jos 2:18, Jos 2:21; 1Ki 7:15; Eze 40:3). In Psa 19:4 (kaw, Their line is gone out through all the earth), the reference is probably still to measurement (the heaven as spanning and bounding the earth), though the Septuagint, followed by Rom 10:18, takes it as meaning a musical cord , phthoggos). The line, as measure, suggests rule of conduct (Isa 28:10). For line in Isa 44:13, the Revised Version (British and American) reads pencil, margin red ochre (seredh), and in 2Co 10:16, province, margin limit (kanon). See also MEASURING LINE; WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Line
* For LINE see PROVINCE, No. 2