Bible Dictionaries
Kiln

Holman Bible Dictionary

An oven, furnace, or heated enclosure used for processing a substance by burning, firing, or drying. The Hebrew word, tannur , is used to refer to both the oven used in the home for baking bread and the large pottery kiln. The “paved work of a sapphire stone” in Exodus 24:10 probably refers to a glazed tile out of a potter's kiln. It is possible that the part of the wall around Jerusalem known as the “Tower of the Ovens” ( Nehemiah 3:11 REB) got its name from a potter's kiln. The term “brickkiln” is used in Nahum 3:14 , but this should probably read “brick mold” (NRSV, NAS) or “brick work” (NIV, REB), as the bricks in Palestine were usually sun dried. See Pottery in Bible Times .