Barrel

King James Dictionary

BAR'REL, n.

1. A vessel or cask, of more length than breadth, round and bulging in the middle, made of staves and heading, and bound with hoops. 2. The quantity which a barrel contains. Of wine measure, the English barrel contains 31 gallons, of beer measure, 36 gallons of ale, 32 gallons and of beer-vinegar, 34 gallons.

Of weight, a barrel of Essex butter  Isaiah 106 pounds of Suffolk butter,256, a barrel of herring should contain 32 gallons wine measure, and hold 1000 herrings a barrel of salmon should contain 42 gallons a barrel of soap should weigh 256 lbs.

In America, the contents of a barrel are regulated by statutes.

In Connecticut, the barrel for liquors must contain 31 gallons, each gallon to contain 231 cubic inches. In New York, a barrel of flour by statute must contain either 196 lb. or 228 lb.net weight. The barrel of beef and pork in New York and Connecticut,  Isaiah 200 lbs. In general, the contents of barrels, as defined by statute, in this country, must be from 28 to 31 1/2 gallons.

3. Any thing hollow and long, as the barrel of a gun a tube. 4. A cylinder as the barrel of a watch, within which the spring is coiled, and round which is wound the chain. 5. A cavity behind the tympanum of the ear is called the barrel of the ear. It is four or five lines deep, and five or six wide, and covered with a fine membrane. It is more usually called the cavity of the tympanum.

BAR'REL, To put in a barrel to pack in a barrel with salt for preservation, as to barrel beef, pork or fish.

Webster's Dictionary

(1): (n.) A round vessel or cask, of greater length than breadth, and bulging in the middle, made of staves bound with hoops, and having flat ends or heads.

(2): (n.) A jar.

(3): (n.) The hollow basal part of a feather.

(4): (v. t.) To put or to pack in a barrel or barrels.

(5): (n.) A metallic tube, as of a gun, from which a projectile is discharged.

(6): (n.) A solid drum, or a hollow cylinder or case; as, the barrel of a windlass; the barrel of a watch, within which the spring is coiled.

(7): (n.) The quantity which constitutes a full barrel. This varies for different articles and also in different places for the same article, being regulated by custom or by law. A barrel of wine is 31/ gallons; a barrel of flour is 196 pounds.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Barrel ,   1 Kings 17:12;   1 Kings 17:14-15;   1 Kings 18:33 . The large earthenware jar (so Amer. RV [Note: Revised Version.] ) used for fetching water from the well, storing grain, etc., elsewhere rendered pitcher . See House, 9.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 1 Kings 17:12 (c) This represents human resources. To scrape the bottom of the barrel means that we have reached the end of our assets, our resources, our wits and our wisdom. Such are just at the point of bankruptcy. Those who walk with the Lord will always find that the Lord has blessings left for the believing and trusting soul.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

The word kad signifies a large earthen vessel, not a barrel made of wood.  1 Kings 17:12,14,16;  1 Kings 18:33 . It is often translated 'pitcher.'

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 1 Kings 17:12,14,16 Genesis 24:14 Judges 7:16

Holman Bible Dictionary

 1 Kings 17:12-16 1 Kings 18:33

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

( כִּד , Kad [ Κάδος , Cadus ] , A Pitcher Or Pail ) , a vessel used for the keeping of flour ( 1 Kings 17:12;  1 Kings 17:14;  1 Kings 17:16;  1 Kings 18:33). The same word is in other places rendered "pitcher," as the same vessel appears to have been also used for carrying water ( Genesis 24:14;  Judges 7:16;  Ecclesiastes 12:6). It was borne on the shoulders, as is the custom in the East in the present day. (See Pitcher).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

bar´el  : The word "barrel" in the King James Version (see  1 Kings 17:12 ,  1 Kings 17:14 ,  1 Kings 17:16;  1 Kings 18:33 : "The barrel of meal," "fill four barrels with water," etc.) stands for the large earthenware jar (so the American Standard Revised Version) used in the East for carrying water from the spring or well, and for storing grain, etc., according to a custom that still persists. It is elsewhere (EV) more fitly rendered "pitcher." See House; Pitcher , etc.