Lexical Summary kir: Furnace, cooking range, hearth Original Word: כִּיר Strong's Exhaustive Concordance a cooking range A form for kuwr (only in the dual); a cooking range (consisting of two parallel stones, across which the boiler is set): see HEBREW kuwr NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom the same as kur Definition cooking furnace NASB Translation stove (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [כִּיר] noun [masculine] cooking-furnace (Mishna כִּירָה) — frangible, only dual כִּירַיִם Leviticus 11:35 (with תַּנּזּר), perhaps as supporting two pots (Ki); ᵐ5 χυτρόποδες. Topical Lexicon Biblical Context Kîyr appears once, in Leviticus 11:35, within the regulations that define cleanness and uncleanness in Israel’s everyday life. The verse reads, “Everything on which any part of their carcass falls will be unclean: an oven or a cooking pot must be smashed; they are unclean and will remain unclean for you” (Berean Standard Bible). The item is a household oven or stove that could become ceremonially defiled by contact with the carcass of a forbidden creature. Domestic and Cultural Background Household ovens in the ancient Near East were normally clay-built, either free-standing domes (“tabûn”) or two-chambered stoves that shared a common firebox with a flat surface for cooking. Such structures absorbed impurities because porous clay trapped organic residue. For Israelites, an oven was therefore more than a convenience; it was a fixed part of the home. Its destruction represented a genuine economic loss, underscoring the seriousness of maintaining ritual purity. Regulations Concerning Purity Leviticus 11 distinguishes between vessels that can be cleansed and those that must be destroyed. Metal pots could be scoured (Leviticus 6:28), but clay ovens contaminated from within were irrecoverable. By commanding their smashing, the law emphasized: Theological and Symbolic Significance 1. Separation for God. The home was a micro-sanctuary in Israel’s theology. A defiled oven symbolized a breach in that sacred space. Archaeological Insights Excavations at Iron-Age sites such as Tel Beersheba and Lachish reveal clay ovens matching the size implied in Leviticus—large enough to knead bread on the exterior, hollow enough inside to bake it. Their fragments are plentiful, verifying that clay stoves were routinely broken, whether from daily wear or, as the text suggests, ritual necessity. Implications for Ministry Today • Personal holiness: The passage challenges believers to guard inner life zealously; habitual sin cannot simply be “scrubbed off.” Related Passages and Themes Genesis 15:17 – the smoking firepot signifies God’s presence. Malachi 4:1 – an oven becomes an image of future judgment. Leviticus 6:28 – contrasts clay and bronze vessels in purification. Jeremiah 19:10 – breaking a jar prophetically enacts judgment. Though kîyr surfaces only once, it anchors a vital principle: the Lord’s people, their homes, and their worship must remain wholly set apart for Him, even when that requires radical measures. Forms and Transliterations וְכִירַ֛יִם וכירים vechiRayim wə·ḵî·ra·yim wəḵîrayimLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Leviticus 11:35 HEB: יִטְמָא֒ תַּנּ֧וּר וְכִירַ֛יִם יֻתָּ֖ץ טְמֵאִ֣ים NAS: an oven or a stove shall be smashed; KJV: [whether it be] oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: INT: becomes an oven A stove shall be smashed are unclean 1 Occurrence |
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