International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Vial

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Vial


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vı̄´al: In modern English means “a tiny flask.” The word appears in English Versions of the Bible and the Revised Version (British and American) , (the King James Version “box”) for פּך, pakh, a word found nowhere else and from a root meaning “to pour.” The shape and size of the pakh are quite uncertain. In 1 Esdras 2:13; and the King James Version , etc., “vial” translates φιάλη, phiale. The phialē was a flat, shallow bowl (Latin, patera), shaped much like a saucer. Hence, the Revised Version's change to “bowl” in Revelation, a change that should have been made in 1 Esdras also.