H5518a H5518a
A pot or cauldron for cooking and boiling; rarely a basin or washpot used for washing
The standard Hebrew word for a cooking vessel, appearing throughout narrative, law, and prophecy. Elisha's miracle at Gilgal involves a pot of stew (2 Kgs 4:38-41), and the Israelites longingly recall the flesh-pots of Egypt (Exod 16:3). Ezekiel twice uses the pot as a grim metaphor for Jerusalem under siege -- a cauldron filled with bones (Ezek 11:3; 24:3-6). Jeremiah sees a boiling pot tilted from the north (Jer 1:13). In two Psalm passages (Ps 60:8; 108:9), God calls Moab 'my washbasin' -- a striking image of subjugation, where the mighty nation is reduced to a basin for washing feet. Arabic 'zir' (a large water jar) may be a cognate loanword, and Korean renderings distinguish between cooking pot and basin.
Senses
1. cooking pot or cauldron — A cooking pot or cauldron used for boiling food or liquids. This is the dominant sense across 27 occurrences. The flesh-pots of Egypt (Exod 16:3), Elisha's pot of stew (2 Kgs 4:38-41), the temple pots (1 Kgs 7:45; Exod 27:3; 38:3), and Ezekiel's siege-cauldron metaphor for Jerusalem (Ezek 11:3; 24:3, 6) all refer to cooking vessels. Spanish 'la olla' and German 'Topf' consistently render this utilitarian kitchen sense. 27×
AR["القِدْرِ", "الْقُدُورَ", "الْقُدُورُ", "الْقِدْرَ", "الْقِدْرُ", "الْقِدْرِ", "فِي-الْقِدْرِ", "قِدْرًا", "قِدْرٌ", "قِدْرٍ", "قِدْرِ"]·ben["-পাত্র", "পাত্র", "পাত্রগুলি", "পাত্রে", "হাঁড়ি", "হাঁড়িতে", "হাঁড়ির"]·DE["Topf-von", "[בסיר]", "[הסיר]", "[הסירות]", "[הסרות]", "[סיר]", "der-pot", "der-pots", "in-der-pot", "pot-von"]·EN["a-pot", "in-the-pot", "pot", "pot-of", "the-pot", "the-pots"]·FR["[בסיר]", "[הסירות]", "[הסרות]", "[סיר]", "dans-le-pot", "le-pot", "le-pots", "le-הסיר", "pot-de"]·heb["ב-סיר", "ה-סיר", "ה-סירות", "סיר"]·HI["कड़ाही", "बर्तन", "ह-देगचियों", "हंडियाँ", "हंडियों", "हंडी", "हंडी-में", "हण्डियाँ", "हण्डियों", "हांडी", "हांडी-में"]·ID["Kuali", "dalam-kuali", "kuali", "kuali-itu", "kuali-kuali"]·IT["[הסירות]", "[הסרות]", "[סיר]", "il-il-pot", "il-pentola", "il-pentole", "in-il-pentola", "pentola", "pentola-di"]·jav["ing-panci", "ing-pèn", "kendhil", "kendhil-punika", "kuali", "kuwali", "kuwali-kuwali", "kuwali-punika", "panci", "para-panci"]·KO["가마솥-을", "그-가마솔이라", "그-솔들", "그-솔들을", "그-솔들이", "그-솔을", "냃-그", "솔", "솔-에", "솔들을", "솔이", "솔이여", "솥", "에-솥"]·PT["a-panela", "as-panelas", "na-panela", "panela", "panela-de"]·RU["-котёл", "в-котле", "горшки", "котлом", "котлом,", "котлу", "котлы", "котёл"]·ES["en-la-olla", "la-olla", "la-olla-de", "las-ollas", "olla", "olla-de-"]·SW["chungu", "chungu-cha", "katika-sufuria", "sufuria", "sufuria-ya", "sufuriaNi", "vyungu"]·TR["de-kazan", "kazan", "kazanin", "kazanlar", "kazanlari", "kazanları", "kazanı", "tencereleri", "çömlek", "çömlekte-o", "çıkarılacağım"]·urd["-ہانڈیاں", "دیگ", "دیگ-کے", "دیگچی", "دیگچیاں", "دیگچیوں", "ہانڈی", "ہنڈیا", "ہنڈیا-میں"]
Exod 16:3, Exod 27:3, Exod 38:3, 1 Kgs 7:45, 2 Kgs 4:38, 2 Kgs 4:39, 2 Kgs 4:40, 2 Kgs 4:41, 2 Kgs 4:41, 2 Kgs 25:14, 2 Chr 4:11, 2 Chr 4:16 (+15 more)
2. basin or washbasin — A basin or washpot, a wide vessel for washing rather than cooking. Limited to two poetic passages where God declares 'Moab is my washbasin' (Ps 60:8; 108:9) -- an image of subjugation, reducing a nation to a menial vessel for foot-washing. Multilingual glosses diverge here: Korean '대야' (basin) and Arabic 'طست' (washbasin) distinguish this from the cooking sense, while some translations retain 'pot' and rely on context. 2×
AR["طَستُ", "مِرجَل"]·ben["গামলা", "পাত্র"]·DE["der-basin-von", "ist-der-pot-von"]·EN["is-the-pot-of", "the-basin-of"]·FR["épine"]·heb["סיר"]·HI["कटोरा", "पात्र"]·ID["bejana"]·IT["spina"]·jav["bokor-wijikan", "sampun-ngandika"]·KO["대야", "대야의"]·PT["bacia-de", "é-minha-bacia"]·RU["умывальня", "чаша"]·ES["vasija-de"]·SW["bakuli-langu", "sinia-yangu-ya"]·TR["kapı-", "leğeni"]·urd["بَرتن", "طشت-ہے"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† I. סִיר n.m. Je 1:13 et f. 2 K 4:38 pot (probably foreign wd. (Egyptian?), Arabic زِيرٌ a large water-jar Lane1276 is perhaps loan-wd.; on Gk. deriv. σιρός, σίρινος, v. LewyFremdw. 107);—ס׳ abs. 2 K 4:38 +, cstr. Ex 16:3 +; pl. סִירֹת 38:3, סִירוֹת 1 K 7:45 +; sf. סִירֹתָיו Ex 27:3, סִירֹתֵיכֶם ψ 58:10;—pot: 1. a. household utensil for boiling 2 K 4:38, 39, 40, 41(×2), ס׳ הַבָּשָׂר Ex 16:3 (P),…