International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Censer

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Censer


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sen´sẽr: In the King James Version censer is used as a translation of two Hebrew words, namely, מחתּה, maḥtāh, and מקטרת, miḳṭeretȟ. The former word is generally rendered “censer,” sometimes “firepan,” and in three cases (; ; ) “snuffdish” It denoted a bowl-shaped vessel used for different purposes, namely, (1) a censer, in which incense was burnt (); (2) a firepan, made of bronze, used in connection with the altar of burnt offering (); (3) a snuffdish, i.e. a receptacle to hold pieces of burnt lamp-wick removed by the tongs or snuffers (). Probably in all these cases the same kind of vessel was meant, namely, a bowl-shaped utensil with a handle, not unlike a saucepan. The other Hebrew word (derived from the same root as the word for “incense”) denoted a vessel for conveying incense (; ). The Greek word θυμιατήριον, thumiatḗrion, by which the Septuagint rendered miḳṭereth, is used also in , where the King James Version gives “censer,” but the American Standard Revised Version is probably more correct, namely, “altar of incense” (see Commentaries under the word). Compare also , , where λιβανωτός, libanōtós, properly the adjective of “frankincense,” is translated “censer.”