Topic
Bell
7 passages cited, from 3 classic reference works.
These works date from 1896–1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Exodus 28:33Easton · ISBE · Nave Attached to the hem of the priest's robe
¶ And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about:
- Zechariah 14:20Easton · ISBE · Nave On horses
¶ In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
- Exodus 28:34Easton · Nave Attached to the hem of the priest's robe
A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.
- Exodus 39:25ISBE · Nave Attached to the hem of the priest's robe
And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates;
- Exodus 39:26ISBE · Nave Attached to the hem of the priest's robe
A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe to minister in; as the LORD commanded Moses.
- Exodus 28:35Easton
And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not.
- 1 Samuel 3:11ISBE
¶ And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.
In the reference works
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · 4 references
The bells first mentioned in Scripture are the small golden bells attached to the hem of the high priest’s ephod (Ex. 28:33, 34, 35). The “bells of the horses” mentioned by Zechariah (14:20) were attached to the bridles or belts round the necks of horses trained for war, so as to accustom them to noise and tumult.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 5 references
(metsilloth, pa`amon): The former of these terms occurs only once (Zec 14:20) where it is thus translated. It is derived from a verb meaning "to tingle" or "dirl" (1Sa 3:11), and there is, therefore, no objection etymologically to rendering the noun by "bells." But the little bell attached to the harness of horses would hardly be a suitable place for a fairly long inscription, and as buckles shaped exactly like cymbals (see MUSIC) were used as ornaments for horses, "cymbals" is probably a better rendering.
The other Hebrew word for bell is found only in Ex 28:33 f; 39:25,26, where "bells of gold" are directed to be attached to the hem of Aaron's official robe, that the people may hear him when he enters and quits the sanctuary. Bells were not employed by the Hebrews to summon the congregation to worship, nor do Mohammedans so use them at the present day. The church bell is a peculiarly Christian institution, said to have been introduced by Bishop Paulinus of Nola in Campania, who lived about the end of the 4th century. Little bells, however, like those attached to the hem of Aaron's robe, frequently form part of the harness of horses, or are fastened to the necks of the he-goats or wethers that lead the flock in eastern lands.
James Millar
In the topical indexes
Texts: Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897); International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915); Nave's Topical Bible (1896), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.