engraved or carved work: a design or inscription deliberately cut into a hard surface such as gem, metal, wood, or stone
TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled
The word names engraved or carved work, a design or lettering deliberately cut into a hard, valuable material. It appears in three settings across the Old Testament:
- the names of Israel's tribes cut into gemstones and into the gold plate of the high priest's turban, done "like the engravings of a seal"
- the cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers carved in relief on the walls of Solomon's temple
- the general skill of a master craftsman who could engrave work of every kind
English pulls these apart. Fine incised lettering cut into a gem or a sheet of gold we call "engraving"; figures raised in wood or stone we call "carving." Hebrew uses the one word for both and treats them as a single craft: the deliberate cutting of a figure or an inscription into a solid surface.
The setting is almost always sacred and skilled. This is the artistry of the tabernacle, the priest's garments, and the temple, not the condemned making of an idol (פֶּסֶל), which is a different word for a different thing.
Nuances
1aan engraved inscription or figure cut into gem or metal, as a seal is cut
TranslatabilityDirect
Exo 28:11Exo 28:21Exo 28:36Exo 39:6Exo 39:14Exo 39:30Zec 3:9
1bcarved relief figures and ornament worked into a building's wood and stone
TranslatabilityDirect
1Ki 6:29Psa 74:6
1cengraving as a craft: skilled engraved work of every kind
TranslatabilityDirect
2Ch 2:7(6)2Ch 2:14(13)