Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

MORTAR

1. A vessel, usually made of ground stone, in which substances are crushed with a pestle. The most common material crushed in a mortar was grain, although cosmetics, dye pigments, spices, and manna (Num. 11:8) were also ground using a mortar (Heb. mĕḏōḵâ) and pestle. Mortars were usually made of basalt (a volcanic stone native to parts of Palestine) and varied in shape from a block with a concave depression on top to more elaborate footed types. Limestone cosmetic palettes or mortars are also known.

2. A plastic building material used to bind bricks or stones. In Palestine and Egypt, mortar was usually made of the same clay used for bricks (Heb. ḥōmer). It was mixed with straw or other materials using the feet (Isa. 41:25; Nah. 3:14) and applied while wet. Mortar was not always used in brick or stone constructions; excavations have shown that many walls were built with stone so accurately cut that they did not need mortar. The builders of the tower of Babel used bitumen for mortar (Gen. 11:3).

Jennie R. Ebeling

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

MORTAR

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)