Bellows
“Blower; an instrument for blowing air”
Summary
An instrument used to produce a blast of air for heating furnaces in metalworking, mentioned once in Scripture in Jeremiah's prophecy.
☩Biblical Reference
The word occurs only in Jeremiah 6:29, where the prophet uses imagery from the refiner's art to describe God's judgment on Israel. The bellows blow fiercely to generate intense heat for smelting and refining metals. The passage indicates that despite God's efforts to refine His people, they remained like impure metal—'refuse silver.'
☩Ancient Construction
Egyptian monuments from the time of Moses show bellows consisting of leather bags fitted into frames with pipes extending to carry air to the fire. Workers operated them by standing on two bags, alternately pressing down with each foot while pulling up the exhausted skin with a string. This foot-operated design allowed continuous airflow to maintain the intense heat needed for metalworking.
Related Verses1 mention
Jeremiah· 1 verse
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Bellows," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. I (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.George Morrish, "Bellows," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Bellows," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).