Hebrew word · H3595

כִּיֹּר

hakiyor

basin

A basin, pot or similar round vessel. It is used for the bronze washing basin of the tabernacle (Exodus 30:18), the ten temple basins (1 Kings 7:38; 2 Chronicles 4:6), a cooking pot (1 Samuel 2:14) and a firepot (Zechariah 12:6). Only here does it mean something a person stands on.

Appears 23 times in 20 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) pot, basin, laver, pan

1a) pot, caldron

1b) fire-pot, brazier

1c) basin, laver

1d) platform, stage

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Chronicles 6:13

Range of meaning

A basin, pot or similar round vessel. It is used for the bronze washing basin of the tabernacle (Exodus 30:18), the ten temple basins (1 Kings 7:38; 2 Chronicles 4:6), a cooking pot (1 Samuel 2:14) and a firepot (Zechariah 12:6). Only here does it mean something a person stands on. BDB and HALOT both list this verse as a separate sense, "platform."

Against the English

Most English versions say "platform," which is the sense the context requires. KJV and YLT say "scaffold." None of them lets the reader see that the Hebrew word is the one used for basins, so the oddity of the word is lost.

How it drifted

"Scaffold" in 1611 could mean a raised stage. Today it suggests builders' poles or a gallows, neither of which is meant.

Used elsewhere in the period

The word appears some twenty-odd times in the Hebrew Bible, all but this one as a vessel. Lexicons compare Akkadian kiūru, a large vessel, so it may be an old borrowed word. The Greek Septuagint avoids the problem by translating it basis ("base, stand") here, and the Latin Vulgate follows with basis.

From the study of Exodus 38:8

Range of meaning

A wide, rounded vessel: a washing basin (Exod 30:18; 1 Kgs 7:38, ten wheeled basins in Solomon's temple), a cooking pot (1 Sam 2:14), a fire-pot (Zech 12:6), and a round bronze platform (2 Chr 6:13). The shared idea is a round, bowl-like shape.

Against the English

KJV has 'laver', an older English word for a washing basin, now used almost only in church settings. Modern versions have 'basin' or 'washbasin'. Both are accurate.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lexicons (HALOT) connect it with an Akkadian word for a basin or cauldron, kiūru, probably a borrowed word with cultic uses. Solomon's temple had both the great 'Sea' and ten kiyyôrôt (1 Kgs 7:23–39), which shows the institution continued.

From the study of Exodus 40:7

Range of meaning

A round vessel or platform, usually of bronze. It can mean a cooking pot (1 Sam 2:14), a fire-pan (Zech 12:6), a raised bronze platform (2 Chr 6:13, where Solomon stands on one), or a large basin for washing (Exod 30:18; 1 Kgs 7:38). Its basic idea is shape (a round bowl or pan), not use.

Against the English

KJV and NASB say "laver," an old word that comes through French from Latin lavare, "to wash." It names the purpose correctly, but most readers today don't know it. BSB, ESV and WEB say "basin," which is plainer and accurate. Neither word brings out that the Hebrew is a general word for a bowl or pan, given its special role here by its setting and use.

How it drifted

"Laver" has not changed its meaning. It has just become obscure. Because it now survives mostly in church vocabulary, some readers assume it is a special religious object with a hidden meaning built in. In Hebrew it is a household-type vessel set apart for sacred use.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Bible it appears for the tabernacle basin (Exod 30:18, 28; 31:9; 35:16; 38:8; 39:39; 40:7, 11, 30; Lev 8:11). It is also used for Solomon's ten wheeled bronze basins (1 Kgs 7:30–43), a priest's cooking pot (1 Sam 2:14), and a fire-pan (Zech 12:6). The Septuagint usually translates it loutēr, "washing vessel." Exodus 38:8 says this basin was made from the bronze mirrors of the women who served at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

Where it appears

Exodus · 9

  1. Exodus 30:18 כִּיּ֥וֹר a laver of

    “You are to make a bronze basin with a bronze stand for washing. Set it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it,

  2. Exodus 30:28 הַכִּיֹּ֖ר the laver

    the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand.

  3. Exodus 31:9 הַכִּיּ֖וֹר the laver

    the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin with its stand—

  4. Exodus 35:16 הַכִּיֹּ֖ר the laver

    the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grate, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin with its stand;

  5. Exodus 38:8 הַכִּיּ֣וֹר the laver

    Next he made the bronze basin and its stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

    Here: The large bronze washing basin commanded in 30:17–21. It stood between the tent and the altar, and the priests washed their hands and feet there before they served. The word 'the' points back to that known item.

  6. Exodus 39:39 הַכִּיֹּ֖ר the laver

    the bronze altar with its bronze grating, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin with its stand;

  7. Exodus 40:7 הַכִּיֹּ֔ר the laver

    And place the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it.

    Here: "The basin." This is the bronze washing basin with its stand, where the priests washed their hands and feet. The "the" points back to the item the reader already knows.

  8. Exodus 40:11 הַכִּיֹּ֖ר the laver

    Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them.

  9. Exodus 40:30 הַכִּיֹּ֔ר the laver

    He placed the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing;

Leviticus · 1

  1. Leviticus 8:11 הַכִּיֹּ֛ר the laver

    He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, anointing the altar and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand, to consecrate them.

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 2:14 בַכִּיּ֜וֹר in the pot

    and plunge it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or cooking pot. And the priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh.

1 Kings · 7

  1. 1 Kings 7:30 לַכִּיֹּר֙ to the laver

    Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and a basin resting on four supports, with wreaths at each side.

  2. 1 Kings 7:38 כִיֹּר֖וֹת הַכִּיּ֣וֹר הַכִּיּ֣וֹר כִּיּ֤וֹר lavers, the laver, a laver

    He also made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths and measuring four cubits across, one basin for each of the ten stands.

  3. 1 Kings 7:40 הַ֨כִּיֹּר֔וֹת the lavers

    Additionally, Huram made the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished all the work that he had undertaken for King Solomon in the house of the LORD:

  4. 1 Kings 7:43 הַכִּיֹּרֹ֥ת the lavers

    the ten stands; the ten basins on the stands;

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 16:17 הַכִּיֹּ֔ר the laver

    King Ahaz also cut off the frames of the movable stands and removed the bronze basin from each of them. He took down the Sea from the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone base.

2 Chronicles · 3

  1. 2 Chronicles 4:6 כִּיּוֹרִים֮ lavers

    He also made ten basins for washing and placed five on the south side and five on the north. The parts of the burnt offering were rinsed in them, but the priests used the Sea for washing.

  2. 2 Chronicles 4:14 הַכִּיֹּר֥וֹת the lavers

    the stands; the basins on the stands;

  3. 2 Chronicles 6:13 כִּיּ֣וֹר a platform of

    Now Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high and had placed it in the middle of the courtyard. He stood on it, knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven,

    Here: The surprise word of the verse. Everywhere else it is a basin or pot, including the temple's washing basins two chapters earlier (2 Chronicles 4:6), but here it is something a man can stand on, perhaps a raised stand with a basin-like form.

Zechariah · 1

  1. Zechariah 12:6 כְּֽכִיּ֧וֹר like a pot of

    On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among the sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and on the left, while the people of Jerusalem remain secure there.

    Here: 'Like a pot (of)': a metal pot or pan, here one holding live coals. Set down in a pile of wood, it lights everything around it.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.