אֲגַרְטָל

From the study of Ezra 1:9

Range of meaning

Some kind of basin, bowl or deep dish used as temple equipment. It is borrowed from another language and occurs only in this verse, so its exact shape and size cannot be known.

Against the English

KJV and WEB have "chargers" or "platters" (flat serving dishes). BSB and YLT have "dishes". ESV has "basins". All of these are reasonable guesses at a word whose shape is unknown. The flat-platter picture in KJV/WEB is probably less likely than a deeper bowl.

How it drifted

Translators had to guess from context. The KJV's "charger" was a normal word for a large dish in 1611 but is now obsolete in that sense.

Used elsewhere in the period

It appears only here in the Hebrew Bible. Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) link it to a word for a basket-like vessel that also shows up in Aramaic/Syriac and in Greek kartallos, "basket". The Greek Old Testament uses kartallos for the basket of firstfruits in Deut 26:2, 4. The ancient translators guessed here too: the Greek Ezra has psyktēres ("coolers", vessels for chilling wine) and the Latin Vulgate has phialae (shallow bowls). The word's exact origin is disputed, and a Persian-era administrative term is one proposal.