Bible Dictionary: Potter

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ATS Bible Dictionary

Potter

A maker of earthenware, Genesis 24:14-15; Jud 7:16,19; Psalm 2:9. Ancient Egyptian paintings represent the potter turning and shaping, on his small and simple wheel made to revolve rapidly by the foot, the lump of clay, which he had previously kneaded with his feet. A pan of water stands by his side, with which he kept the clay moist. After the body of the vessel was worked into shape and beauty, the handle was affixed to it, devices traced upon it, and after drying a little, it was carefully taken to the oven and baked. The potter's control over the clay illustrates the sovereignty of God, who made us of clay, and forms and disposes of us as he deems good: "O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter- saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, saith the Lord," Jeremiah 18:1-6. "Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus' Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor-" Romans 9:20-21.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) One whose occupation is to make earthen vessels.

2. (n.) One who hawks crockery or earthenware.

3. (n.) One who pots meats or other eatables.

4. (n.) The red-bellied terrapin. See Terrapin.

5. (v. i.) To busy one's self with trifles; to labor with little purpose, energy, of effect; to trifle; to pother.

6. (v. i.) To walk lazily or idly; to saunter.

7. (v. t.) To poke; to push; also, to disturb; to confuse; to bother.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

POTTER; POTTERY

pot'-er, pot'-er-i:

1. Historical Development

2. Forms

3. Methods of Production

4. Uses

5. Biblical Terms

6. Archaeological Significance

LITERATURE

1. Historical Development:

(1) Prehistoric.

The making of pottery ranks among the very oldest of the crafts. On the rocky plateaus of Upper Egypt, overlooking the Nile valley, are found the polished red earthenware pots of the prehistoric Egyptians. These are buried in shallow oval graves along with the cramped-up bodies of the dead and their chipped flint weapons and tools. These jars are the oldest examples of the potter's article It is inconceivable that in the country of Babel, Egypt's great rival in civilization, the ceramic arts were less developed at the same period, but the difference in the nature of the country where the first Mesopotamian settlement probably existed makes it unlikely that relics of the prehistoric dwellers of that country will ever be recovered from under the debris of demolished cities and the underlying deposits of clay and silt.

(2) Babylonia.

The oldest examples of Babylonian ceramics date from the historical period, and consist of baked clay record tablets, bricks, drainage pipes, household shrines, as well as vessels for holding liquids, fruits and other stores. (See Perrot and Chipiez, History of Art in Chaldea and Assyria, I, figures 159, 160, II, figures 163, 168.) Examples of pottery of this early period are shown in the accompanying figures. By the 9th to the 7th century B.C. the shaping of vessels of clay had become well developed. Fragments of pottery bearing the name of Esarhaddon establish the above dates.

(3) Egypt.

With the close of the neolithic period in Egypt and the beginning of the historical or dynastic period (4500-4000 B.C.) there was a decline in the pottery article The workmanship and forms both became bad, and not until the IVth Dynasty was there any improvement. In the meantime the process of glazing had been discovered and the art of making beautiful glazed faience became one of the most noted of the ancient Egyptian crafts. The potter's wheel too was probably an invention of this date.

(4) Palestine.

The making of pottery in the land which later became the home of the children of Israel began long before this people possessed the land and even before the Phoenicians of the coast cities had extended their trade inland and brought the earthenware vessels of the Tyrian or Sidonian potters. As in Egypt and Babylonia, the first examples were hand-made without the aid of the wheel.

It is probable that Jewish potters learned their art from the Phoenicians. They at least copied Phoenician and Mycenaean forms. During their wanderings the children of Israel were not likely to make much use of earthenware vessels, any more than the Arabs do today. Skins, gourds, wooden and metal vessels were less easily broken.

To illustrate this, a party, of which the writer was a member, took on a desert trip the earthenware water jars specially made for travel, preferring them to the skin bottles such as the Arab guides carried, for the bottles taint the water. At the end of six days only one out of eight earthenware jars was left. One accident or another had broken all the others.

When the Israelites became settled in their new surroundings they were probably not slow in adopting earthenware vessels, because of their advantages, and their pottery gradually developed distinctive though decadent types known as Jewish.

Toward the close of the Hebrew monarchy the pottery of the land again showed the effect of outside influences. The red and black figured ware of the Greeks was introduced, and still later the less artistic Roman types, and following these by several centuries came the crude glazed vessels of the Arabic or Saracenic period-forms which still persist.

2. Forms:

It is not within the limits of this article to describe in detail the characteristics of the pottery of the various periods. The accompanying illustrations taken from photographs of pottery in the Archaeological Museum of the Syrian Protestant College, Beirut, give a general idea of the forms. Any attempt at classification of Palestinian pottery must be considered more or less provisional, due to the uncertainty of origin of many forms. The classification of pre-Roman pottery here used is that adopted by Bliss and Macalister and based upon Dr. Petrie's studies.

(1) Early Pre-Israelite, Called also "Amorite" (before 1500 B.C.).

Most of the vessels of this period are handmade and often irregular in shape. A coarse clay, turning red or black when burned, characterizes many specimens. Some are brick red. Specimens with a polished or burnished surface are also found.

(2) Late Pre-Israelite or Phoenician (1500-1000 B.C.).

From this period on, the pottery is all wheel-turned. The clay is of a finer quality and burned to a brown or red. The ware is thin and light. Water jars with pointed instead of fiat bases appear. Some are decorated with bands or lines of different colored meshes. Cypriote ware with its incised decorations was a like development of the period.

(3) Jewish (1000-300 B.C.).

Foreign influence is lost. The types which survive degenerate. New forms are introduced. Ordinary coarse clay burning red is used. Cooking pots are most characteristic. Many examples bear Hebrew stamps, the exact meaning of which is uncertain.

(4) Seleucidan.

Foreign influence again appears. Greek and other types are imported and copied. Ribbed surfaces are introduced. The old type of burnishing disappears.

(5) Roman and Saracenic.

Degenerate forms persisting till the present time.

(6) Present-day Pottery.

3. Methods of Production:

The clay as found in the ground is not suitable for use. It is dug out and brought to the vicinity of the pottery (the "potter's field," Matthew 27:7) and allowed to weather for weeks. The dry material is then dumped into a cement-lined tank or wooden trough and covered with water. When the lumps have softened they are stirred in the water until all have disintegrated and a thin slimy mud or "slip" has been formed. In coast cities-the potteries are all near the sea, as the sea-water is considered better for the "slipping" process. The slip is drawn off into settling tanks. All stones and lumps remain behind. When the clay has settled, the water is drawn off and the plastic material is worked by treading with the feet (compare Isaiah 41:25; The Wisdom of Solomon 15:7). The clay used on the Syrian coast is usually a mixture of several earths, which the potters have learned by experience gives the right consistency. The prepared clay is finally packed away and allowed to stand another six months before using, during which time the quality, especially the plasticity, is believed to improve.

Before the invention of the potter's wheel the clay was shaped into vessels by hand. In all of the countries previously mentioned the specimens representing the oldest work are all hand-made. Chopped straw was usually added to the clay of these early specimens. This material is omitted in the wheel-shaped objects. In a Mt. Lebanon village which is noted for its pottery the jars are still made by hand. Throughout the country the clay stoves are shaped by hand out of clay mixed with straw.

The shaping of vessels is now done on wheels, the use of which dates back to earliest history. Probably the Egyptians were the first to use such a machine (IVth Dynasty). In their original form they were stone disks arranged to be turned by hand on a vertical axis. The wheel stood only a few inches above the ground, and the potter sat or squatted down on the ground before it as he shaped his object (see Wilkinson, Ancient Egypt, II, figure 397). The wheels used in Palestine and Syria today probably differ in no respect from those used in the potter's house visited by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 18:1-6). The wheel or, to be more exact, wheels (compare Jeremiah 18:3) are fitted on a square wooden or iron shaft about 3 ft. long. The lower disk is about 20 inches in diameter, and the upper one 8 inches or 12 inches. The lower end of the shaft is pointed and fits into a stone socket or bearing in which it rotates. A second bearing just below the upper disk is so arranged that the shaft inclines slightly away from the potter. The potter leans against a slanting seat, bracing himself with one foot so that he will not slide off, and with the sole of his other foot he kicks the upper face of the lower wheel, thus making the whole machine rotate. The lower wheel is often of stone to give greater momentum. With a marvelous dexterity, which a novice tries in vain to imitate, he gives the pieces of clay any shape he desires.

After the vessel is shaped it is dried and finally fired in a furnace or kiln. The ancient Egyptian kiln was much smaller than the one used today (Wilkhinson, II, 192). Most of the kilns are of the crudest form of the "up-draught" variety, i.e. a large chamber with perforated bottom and a fireplace beneath. The fire passes up through the holes, around the jars packed in tiers in the chamber, and goes out at the top. An interesting survival of an early Greek form is still used in Rachiyet-el-Fakhar in Syria. In this same village the potters also use the lead dross, which comes from the parting of silver, for glazing their jars (compare Proverbs 26:23). In firing pottery there are always some jars which come out imperfect. In unpacking the kiln and storing the product others get broken. As a consequence the ground in the vicinity of a pottery is always strewn with potsherds (see also separate article). The ancient potteries can frequently be located by these sherds. The potter's field mentioned in Matthew 27:7, 10 was probably a field near a pottery strewn with potsherds, thus making it useless for cultivation although useful to the potter as a place in which to weather his clay or to dry his pots before firing.

4. Uses:

Pottery was used in ancient times for storing liquids, such as wine or oil, fruits, grains, etc. The blackened bottoms of pots of the Jewish period show that they were used for cooking. Earthenware dishes were also used for boiling clothes. Every one of these uses still continues. To one living in Bible lands today it seems inconceivable that the Hebrews did not readily adopt, as some writers disclaim, the porous earthen water jars which they found already in use in their new country. Such jars were used for carrying live coals to start a fire, and not only for drawing water, as they are today, but for cooling it (Isaiah 30:14). The evaporation of the water which oozes through the porous material cools down the contents of a jar, whereas a metal or leathern vessel would leave it tepid or tainted. They were also used for holding shoemaker's glue or wax; for filling up the cracks of a wall before plastering; ground up they are used as sand in mortar.

5. Biblical Terms:

Only a few of the Hebrew words for vessels of different sorts, which in all probability were made of pottery, have been translated by terms which indicate that fact (For cheres, and yatsar, see EARTHEN VESSELS; OSTRACA.) kadh, is translated "pitcher" in Genesis 24:14 ff;; Judges 7:16 ff;; Ecclesiastes 12:6 (compare keramion, Mark 14:13 Luke 22:10); "jar" in 1 Kings 17:12 (compare hudria, John 4:28). The kadh corresponded in size and use to the Arabic jarrah (compare English derivative "jar"). The jarrah is used for drawing and storing water and less frequently for holding other liquids or solids. It is used as an proximate standard of measure. For example, a man estimates the capacity of a cistern in jirar (plural of jarrah). baqbuq, "a bottle," usually leathern, but in Jeremiah 19:1, 10 of pottery. This may have been like the Arabic ibriq, which causes a gurgling sound when liquid is turned from it. Baqbuq is rendered "cruse" in 1 Kings 14:3.

keli "vessel," was of wood, metal or earthen-ware in Leviticus 6:28 Psalm 2:9; Psalm 31:12 Isaiah 30:14 Jeremiah 19:11, etc.; compare ostrakinos, 2 Corinthians 4:7, etc.

pakh, is translated "vial" in 1 Samuel 10:1 2 Kings 9:1; see so-called pilgrim bottles.

koc also qasah "cup" or "bowl," translated "cup" in many passages, like Arabic ka's, which was formerly used for drinking instead of modern cups.

gabhia, translated "bowl" in Jeremiah 35:5.

parur, translated "pots" in Numbers 11:8; compare Judges 6:19 1 Samuel 2:14; compare chutra, which is similar to Arabic.

kidr, commonly used for cooking today.

'etsebh, "pot," Jeremiah 22:28 the American Revised Version margin.

6. Archaeological Significance:

The chemical changes wrought in clay by weathering and firing render it practically indestructible when exposed to the weather and to the action of moisture and the gaseous and solid compounds found in the soil. When the sun-baked brick walls of a Palestinian city crumbled, they buried, often intact, the earthenware vessels of the period. In the course of time, perhaps after decades or centuries, another city was built on the debris of the former. The brick walls required no digging for foundations, and so the substrata were left undisturbed. After long periods of time the destruction, by conquering armies or by neglect, of succeeding cities, produced mounds rising above the surrounding country, sometimes to a height of 60 or 100 ft. A typical example of such a mound is Tell el-Chesy (? Lachish). Dr. Flinders Petrie, as a result of the study of the various strata of this mound, has formed the basis of a classification of Palestinian pottery (see 2, above). With a knowledge of the forms of pottery of each period, the excavator has a guide, though not infallible, to the date of the ruins he finds.

See also CRAFTS, II, 4.

Figurative: The shaping of clay into pottery typified the molding of the characters of individuals or nations by a master mind (Jeremiah 18:1-6 Isaiah 29:16; Isaiah 45:9; Isaiah 64:8 Romans 9:20); commonplace (Lamentations 4:2 2 Timothy 2:20); frailness (Psalm 2:9 Isaiah 30:14 Jeremiah 19:11 Daniel 2:41 2 Corinthians 4:7 Revelation 2:27).

LITERATURE.

Publications of PEF, especially Bliss and Macalister, Excavations in Palestine; Excavations of Gezer; Bliss, A Mound of Many Cities; Flinders Petrie, Tell el-Ghesy; Bliss and Dickie, Excavations at Jerusalem; Perrot and Chipiez, History of Art (i) in Chaldea and Assyria, (ii) Sardinia and Judea, (iii) Cyprus and Phoenicia, (iv) Egypt; King and Hall, Egypt and Western Asia in Light of Modern Discoveries; S. Birch, History of Ancient Pottery; Wilkinson, The Ancient Egyptians; PEFQ; EB; HDB.

James A. Patch

Greek

2763. kerameus -- a potter
... a potter. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: kerameus Phonetic Spelling:
(ker-am-yooce') Short Definition: a potter Definition: a potter. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2763.htm - 6k

2764. keramikos -- earthen
... earthen. Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: keramikos Phonetic Spelling:
(ker-am-ik-os') Short Definition: of clay, made by a potter Definition: of clay ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2764.htm - 6k

4111. plasso -- to form
... form. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: plasso Phonetic Spelling: (plas'-so)
Short Definition: I form, mould Definition: I form, mould, as a potter his clay ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4111.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

6353. pechar -- a potter
... 6352, 6353. pechar. 6354 . a potter. Transliteration: pechar Phonetic Spelling:
(peh-khawr') Short Definition: potter's. Word Origin ...
/hebrew/6353.htm - 5k

3335. yatsar -- to form, fashion
... 1), fashioning (2), fashions (1), formed (20), forming (2), forms (2), made (1),
Maker (2), maker (4), ordained (1), planned (4), potter (9), potter's (7 ...
/hebrew/3335.htm - 6k

70. oben -- a wheel, disk
... From the same as 'eben; a pair of stones (only dual); a potter's wheel or a midwife's
stool (consisting alike of two horizontal disks with a support between ...
/hebrew/70.htm - 6k

7429. ramas -- to trample
... A primitive root; to tread upon (as a potter, in walking or abusively) -- oppressor,
stamp upon, trample (under feet), tread (down, upon). 7428, 7429. ...
/hebrew/7429.htm - 6k

Library

Potter
... Potter. Potter, Thomas Joseph, an English Roman Catholic priest and professor,
was born at Scarborough, England, in 1827. He became ...
//christianbookshelf.org/nutter/hymn writers of the church/potter.htm

The Potter and the Clay
... The Potter and the Clay. Jeremiah 18 ... words. Then I went down to the potter's
house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And ...
/.../whitefield/selected sermons of george whitefield/the potter and the clay.htm

Potter -- Memorial Discourse on Phillips Brooks
... POTTER " MEMORIAL DISCOURSE ON PHILLIPS BROOKS. MEMORIAL DISCOURSE ON PHILLIPS
BROOKS BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE. ... He died in 1908. POTTER. 1834"1908. ...
/.../kleiser/the worlds great sermons volume 8/potter memorial discourse on.htm

Concerning the Arguments which Nigidius the Mathematician Drew ...
... Book V. Chapter 3."Concerning the Arguments Which Nigidius the Mathematician Drew
from the Potter's Wheel, in the Question About the Birth of Twins. ...
/.../augustine/city of god/chapter 3 concerning the arguments which.htm

Parables. (xiii, xviii-xx, xxxv. )
... Next comes the Parable of the Potter, Ch. XVIII, that might be from any part of
the Prophet's ministry, during which he was free to move in public. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/smith/jeremiah/2 parables xiii xviii-xx xxxv.htm

Distinguishing Grace
... There is a vessel upon the potter's wheel, would it not be preposterous for that
clay which the potter fashioneth to boast itself and say, "How well am I ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 5 1859/distinguishing grace.htm

A Passage of Jeremiah Examined.
... And here I may adduce the prophet Jeremiah as a trustworthy and lucid witness, who
speaks thus: "Then I went down to the potter's house; and, behold, he ...
/.../chapter v a passage of jeremiah.htm

Whether Grace is Bound to be Given to one who Prepares Himself for ...
... On the other hand: man is to God as clay to the potter, according to Jer.18:6:
"as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand." But clay is not ...
/.../aquinas/nature and grace/article three whether grace is 3.htm

Whether Grace is Necessarily Given to Whoever Prepares Himself for ...
... On the contrary, Man is compared to God as clay to the potter, according to
Jer.18:6: "As clay is in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand." But ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether grace is necessarily given.htm

the Legendary History of Egypt
... was broken, and each advanced the claims of a different personage.[*] Phtah had
modelled man with his own hands;[**] Khnumu had formed him on a potter's table ...
/.../chapter iii -the legendary history of.htm

Thesaurus

Potter (14 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. POTTER; POTTERY. pot ... crafts. The potter's wheel
too was probably an invention of this date. (4) Palestine. ...
/p/potter.htm - 28k

Potter's (16 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia POTTER'S FIELD. pot'-erz. See ACELDAMA.
Multi-Version Concordance Potter's (16 Occurrences). Matthew ...
/p/potter's.htm - 11k

Clay (50 Occurrences)
... This word is used of sediment found in pits or in streets (Isaiah 57:20; Jeremiah
38:60), of dust mixed with spittle (John 9:6), and of potter's clay (Isaiah 41 ...
/c/clay.htm - 25k

Pottery (11 Occurrences)
... The art of, was early practised among all nations. Various materials seem to have
been employed by the potter. ... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. POTTER; POTTERY. ...
/p/pottery.htm - 27k

Akeldama (1 Occurrence)
... into the sanctuary" and "bought with them the potter's field, to bury
strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The field of ...
/a/akeldama.htm - 8k

Wheel (20 Occurrences)
... 6. (n.) A potter's wheel. See under Potter. ... (3) gilgal, Isaiah 28:28, the roller
of a threshing wagon. (4) 'obhnayim, Jeremiah 18:3. See POTTER. ...
/w/wheel.htm - 18k

Valued (27 Occurrences)
... (BBE NAS). Lamentations 4:2 The valued sons of Zion, whose price was the best gold,
are looked on as vessels of earth, the work of the hands of the potter! ...
/v/valued.htm - 15k

Field (390 Occurrences)
... feld. See AGRICULTURE. POTTER'S FIELD. pot'-erz. See ACELDAMA. ... Matthew 27:7 They
took counsel, and bought the potter's field with them, to bury strangers in. ...
/f/field.htm - 44k

Whensoever (13 Occurrences)
... Jeremiah 18:4 And when the vessel that he made of the clay was marred in the hand
of the potter, he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter...
/w/whensoever.htm - 10k

Throw (135 Occurrences)
... 11. (vt) To form or shape roughly on a throwing engine, or potter's wheel, as earthen
vessels. 12. ... 22. (n.) A potter's wheel or table; a jigger. ...
/t/throw.htm - 38k

Bible Concordance

Potter (14 Occurrences)

Matthew 27:7 They took counsel, and bought the potter's field with them, to bury strangers in.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Matthew 27:10 and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Romans 9:21 Or hasn't the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel for honor, and another for dishonor?
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Revelation 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
(KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Psalms 2:9 You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT RSV NIV)

Isaiah 29:16 You turn things upside down! Should the potter be thought to be like clay; that the thing made should say about him who made it, "He didn't make me;" or the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding?"
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 41:25 "I have raised up one from the north, and he has come; from the rising of the sun, one who calls on my name; and he shall come on rulers as on mortar, and as the potter treads clay.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 45:9 Cursed is he who has an argument with his Maker, the pot which has an argument with the Potter! Will the wet earth say to him who is working with it, What are you doing, that your work has nothing by which it may be gripped?
(BBE NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 64:8 But now, Yahweh, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you our potter; and we all are the work of your hand.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 18:4 When the vessel that he made of the clay was marred in the hand of the potter, he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 18:6 House of Israel, can't I do with you as this potter? says Yahweh. Behold, as the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 19:1 Thus said Yahweh, Go, and buy a potter's earthen bottle, and take of the elders of the people, and of the elders of the priests;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Lamentations 4:2 The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, How are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Zechariah 11:13 Yahweh said to me, "Throw it to the potter, the handsome price that I was valued at by them!" I took the thirty pieces of silver, and threw them to the potter, in the house of Yahweh.
(WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Subtopics

Potter

Related Terms

Potter's (16 Occurrences)

Clay (50 Occurrences)

Pottery (11 Occurrences)

Akeldama (1 Occurrence)

Wheel (20 Occurrences)

Valued (27 Occurrences)

Field (390 Occurrences)

Whensoever (13 Occurrences)

Throw (135 Occurrences)