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כִּיּוֹר

𐤊𐤉𐤅𐤓

kîyôwr

H3595 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A large basin, especially a wash-basin or laver used for ritual washing in the tabernacle or temple. More generally, denotes any round vessel such as a pan, caldron, or washbowl, sometimes extended metaphorically to a platform or pedestal structure due to its shape. The primary lexical sense refers to a container with a concave, rounded form, typically used to hold or convey water for washing, but also sometimes used for cooking or burning coals.

Semantic Range

wash-basin, ritual laver, household basin, pan, caldron, chafing-dish, hearth, platform or podium (by extension due to shape)

Root / Etymology

From the Hebrew root כּוּר (k-w-r), meaning 'to dig,' 'to bore,' or 'to excavate,' with the sense of making something hollow or concave. כִּיּוֹר derives from this root as a noun meaning 'that which is hollowed out' or 'excavated,' hence taking on the meaning of a round basin, pan, or laver. The root meaning relates to the boundary form (circular, hollow) more than to the object's specific use.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In early Israelite cultic practice, the כִּיּוֹר referred specifically to the large bronze basin set in the courtyard of the tabernacle/temple for priestly ablutions (ritual washing of hands and feet; Exodus 30:18-21, 38:8, 40:30-32). During the First Temple period, Solomon constructed ten additional כִּיּוֹרוֹת (plural) for ritual use (1 Kings 7:38-40). The word also appears in non-cultic settings to mean a vessel or basin for domestic washing, cooking, or holding coals (Judges 6:38; Zechariah 12:6 refers to a 'hearth'). Rarely, the term's sense as 'a round object' allows metaphorical use for a platform or podium (2 Chronicles 6:13, often rendered 'scaffold'), though this is likely an extension based on shape rather than function. English translations often narrow the term to 'laver' when referring to the tabernacle, but the Hebrew is more flexible, encompassing other round, hollowed vessels as context dictates. The uses of כִּיּוֹר reflect a continuity of function—a container, primarily for water—across Israelite history, though its specific liturgical meaning gained prominence in temple ritual contexts.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

or כִּיֹּר; from the same as כּוּר; properly, something round (as excavated or bored), i.e. a chafing-dish forcoals or a caldron forcooking; hence (from similarity of form) a washbowl; also (for the same reason) a pulpit or platform; hearth, laver, pan, scaffold.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

כור (k-w-r) — to dig, bore, excavate, hollow out

Root כור to dig, bore, excavate, hollow out
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1615 גִּר burned lime
H3564 כּוּר in smelting-furnace of
H3565 כּוֹר עָשָׁן in Furnace-of-Smoke
H3600 כִּיר pair of cooking-stones
H3734 כֹּר the large dry-measure vessel

Word Forms

9 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H3595-02 הַ/כִּיֹּ֖ר hakiyor HTd/Ncmsa the laver the hollowed basin the hollowed basin 8
H3595-01 הַ/כִּיּ֖וֹר hakior HTd/Ncmsa the laver the hollowed basin the laver 4
H3595-03 הַ֨/כִּיֹּר֔וֹת hakiyorot HTd/Ncmpa basins the hollowed basins the hollowed basins 3
H3595-06 כִּיּ֥וֹר kior HNcmsa a laver hollowed-out basin laver 3
H3595-04 כְּֽ/כִיּ֧וֹר kekhior HR/Ncmsc like a firepot like a hollowed basin like a hollowed basin 1
H3595-08 לַ/כִּיֹּר֙ lakiyor HRd/Ncmsa to-the-basin to the hollowed basin to the basin 1
H3595-05 כִיֹּר֖וֹת khiyorot HNcmpc lavers hollowed-out basins of lavers 1
H3595-07 כִּיּוֹרִים֮ kiorim HNcmpa basins hollowed basins basins 1
H3595-09 בַ/כִּיּ֜וֹר vakior HRd/Ncmsa into the pan in the hollowed basin in the hollowed basin 1

Occurrences in Scripture

23 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H3595-06 Exodus 30:18 כִּיּ֥וֹר kior HNcmsa a laver hollowed-out basin hollowed-out basin
H3595-02 Exodus 30:28 הַ/כִּיֹּ֖ר hakiyor HTd/Ncmsa the laver the hollowed basin the laver
H3595-01 Exodus 31:9 הַ/כִּיּ֖וֹר hakior HTd/Ncmsa basin the hollowed basin the hollowed basin
H3595-02 Exodus 35:16 הַ/כִּיֹּ֖ר hakiyor HTd/Ncmsa basin the hollowed basin the hollowed basin
H3595-01 Exodus 38:8 הַ/כִּיּ֣וֹר hakior HTd/Ncmsa the laver the hollowed basin the laver
H3595-02 Exodus 39:39 הַ/כִּיֹּ֖ר hakiyor HTd/Ncmsa the laver the hollowed basin the hollowed basin
H3595-02 Exodus 40:7 הַ/כִּיֹּ֔ר hakiyor HTd/Ncmsa laver the hollowed basin the laver
H3595-02 Exodus 40:11 הַ/כִּיֹּ֖ר hakiyor HTd/Ncmsa basin the hollowed basin the hollowed basin
H3595-02 Exodus 40:30 הַ/כִּיֹּ֔ר hakiyor HTd/Ncmsa the laver the hollowed basin the hollowed basin
H3595-02 Leviticus 8:11 הַ/כִּיֹּ֛ר hakiyor HTd/Ncmsa the basin the hollowed basin the hollowed basin
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