105. agartal
Lexical Summary
agartal: Vessel, Container

Original Word: אֲגַרְטָל
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: agartal
Pronunciation: ah-gar-TAHL
Phonetic Spelling: (ag-ar-tawl')
KJV: charger
NASB: dishes
Word Origin: [of uncertain derivation]

1. a basin

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
charger

Of uncertain derivation; a basin -- charger.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
a basin, basket
NASB Translation
dishes (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
[אֲגַרְטָל] noun masculine a kind of vessel, basin or basket (?; others basket-like, basket-shaped vessel); only plural construct אֲגַרְטְלֵי זָהָב, & כֶסֶף ׳א, both Ezra 1:9, denoting vessels from temple at Jerusalem restored by Cyrus. (Etymology & meaning dubious compare above; A ᵐ5L Manuscripts ᵐ5 of ψυκτῆρες, wine-coolers; B omits; now commonly compared with Aramaic קַרְטָלִיתָא Levy NHWBiv. 376, , Arabic , , supposed to be loan-word from Hellenistic Greek κάρταλος, κάρταλλος (e.g. ᵐ5 2 Kings 10:7, Hebrew דּוּדִים), all = basket, fruit-basket, etc., canistrum (so MV BeRy SS); but κάρταλλος itself is possibly a Persian or Semitic loan-word; compare especially Frä77f.; further conjectures in Thes BeRy.)

גרל (compare Arabic , & plural , stones, or stony place planted with trees; stony; , , stony ground, stones; hence following, because stones were used in casting lots; compare Greek ψῆφος pebble, vote; κύσμος bean, lot).

Topical Lexicon
object described

The term refers to shallow basins or dishes fashioned of precious metal. In Ezra 1:9 the inventory lists thirty in gold and one thousand in silver, indicating both their abundance and their value. The repetition within the same verse provides the two recorded occurrences.

scriptural setting

Ezra 1 recounts the edict of Cyrus permitting the exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. Verses 7–11 enumerate the temple vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken and that Cyrus now restores. Among them are the אֲגַרְטָלִים. Their presence highlights the careful preservation of even the smaller implements of worship during the exile.

Ezra 1:9: “This was the inventory: 30 gold basins, 1,000 silver basins, 29 silver utensils.”

historical significance

1. Evidence of Persian policy. Cyrus’s deliberate restitution of temple furnishings underscores the tolerant policy toward subject peoples and their cultic objects, lending historical support to the biblical narrative.
2. Continuity of worship. The return of the exact vessels taken by Babylon links the restored temple directly to Solomon’s original sanctuary, demonstrating that exile had not annulled Israel’s covenant identity.
3. Testament to divine providence. Precious items survived conquest, captivity, storage in pagan treasuries, and imperial transitions, only to be returned at the appointed time (compare Isaiah 52:11–12).

liturgical role

Basins served essential functions in tabernacle and temple worship:
• Receiving sacrificial blood (Exodus 24:6).
• Holding oil or grain offerings (Leviticus 2:1–2).
• Presenting drink offerings or libations (Numbers 4:7).

Though Ezra does not specify the precise use, their construction in gold and silver implies employment in high‐holiness contexts, perhaps associated with daily or festival sacrifices (cf. 2 Chronicles 4:8, 22).

symbolic and theological implications

1. Holiness of vessels. Objects set apart for divine service could not be repurposed without defilement (Daniel 5:2–4). Their recovery therefore signifies a reversal of profanation.
2. Restoration typology. Just as the basins are cleansed and returned, so the people are purified and replanted in the land (Jeremiah 33:7–9).
3. Vessels of honor. The New Testament applies similar imagery to believers: “If anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21). The basins prefigure this call to consecration.

prophetic and typological considerations

The meticulous counting of returned vessels foreshadows the completeness of future redemption. Zechariah envisions even the common cooking pots in Jerusalem becoming “holy to the Lord of Hosts” (Zechariah 14:20–21). The basins in Ezra anticipate that universal sanctification.

ministry applications

• Stewardship: Sacred objects were inventoried, transported, and handed over “by count and weight” (Ezra 1:8–11). Ministry resources today deserve similar accountability.
• Purity: The returned community could not offer worship with defiled utensils; spiritual leaders must guard personal and corporate holiness.
• Hope in exile: The survival and restoration of these basins encourage believers enduring displacement or hardship that God preserves both people and purposes.

related biblical imagery

Basins recur throughout Scripture:

Exodus 27:3; 1 Kings 7:50; 2 Chronicles 24:14—each context associates them with sacrificial blood, cleansing, or the house of God. The אֲגַרְטָלִים of Ezra stand within this broader motif of receptacles mediating between holy God and sinful humanity.

concluding reflection

Though mentioned only twice—and both times in a single verse—the basins remind readers that every detail of worship matters. Their journey from Solomon’s temple, through Babylonian plunder, into Persian treasuries, and back to Jerusalem testifies that the Lord both judges and restores, and that He keeps careful count of every vessel dedicated to His glory.

Forms and Transliterations
אֲגַרְטְלֵ֨י אֲגַרְטְלֵי־ אגרטלי אגרטלי־ ’ă·ḡar·ṭə·lê ’ă·ḡar·ṭə·lê- ’ăḡarṭəlê ’ăḡarṭəlê- agarteLei
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Ezra 1:9
HEB: וְאֵ֖לֶּה מִסְפָּרָ֑ם אֲגַרְטְלֵ֨י זָהָ֜ב שְׁלֹשִׁ֗ים
NAS: 30gold dishes, 1000 silver
KJV: of them: thirty chargers of gold,
INT: another and this the number chargers of gold thirty

Ezra 1:9
HEB: זָהָ֜ב שְׁלֹשִׁ֗ים אֲגַרְטְלֵי־ כֶ֙סֶף֙ אָ֔לֶף
NAS: 1000silver dishes, 29 duplicates;
KJV: a thousand chargers of silver,
INT: of gold thirty chargers of silver A thousand

2 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 105
2 Occurrences


’ă·ḡar·ṭə·lê — 2 Occ.

104
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