Bible Encyclopedias
Line

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

lı̄n ( קו , ḳaw , חבל , ḥēbhel ): Usually of a measuring line, as Jeremiah 31:39; Ezekiel 47:3; Zechariah 1:16 ( ḳaw ); Psalm 78:55; Amos 7:17; Zechariah 2:1 ( ḥēbhel ). Other Hebrew words mean simply a cord or thread (Joshua 2:18 , Joshua 2:21; 1 Kings 7:15; Ezekiel 40:3 ). In Psalm 19:4 ( ḳaw , "Their line is gone out through all the earth"), the reference is probably still to measurement (the heaven as spanning and bounding the earth), though the Septuagint, followed by Romans 10:18 , takes it as meaning a musical cord φθόγγος , phthóggos ). The "line," as measure, suggests rule of conduct (Isaiah 28:10 ). For "line" in Isaiah 44:13 , the Revised Version (British and American) reads "pencil," margin "red ochre" (seredh ), and in 2 Corinthians 10:16 , "province," margin "limit" (kanṓn ). See also MEASURING LINE; WEIGHTS AND MEASURES .