Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical contexts, the term "roll" often refers to a scroll, a rolled-up piece of parchment or papyrus used for writing. Scrolls were the primary medium for recording texts in ancient times, including the Scriptures. The concept of a "roll" is significant in understanding how the Word of God was preserved and transmitted throughout history.
Old Testament UsageThe Hebrew word for roll, "megillah," is frequently translated as "scroll" in English Bibles. One notable instance is found in the book of Jeremiah. In
Jeremiah 36:2 , God commands the prophet, "Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you—during the reign of Josiah until today." This passage highlights the importance of recording divine revelation for posterity.
Another significant mention is in
Ezekiel 2:9-10 , where the prophet Ezekiel describes a vision: "Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me, and in it was a scroll, which He unrolled before me. And on both sides were written words of lamentation, mourning, and woe." Here, the roll symbolizes the message of judgment that Ezekiel is to deliver to the people of Israel.
New Testament UsageIn the New Testament, the Greek equivalent "biblion" is used, which can also mean a book or scroll. In
Luke 4:17-20 , Jesus reads from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue: "The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it is written: 'The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor...'" This event underscores the fulfillment of prophecy and the authority of Jesus as the Messiah.
Symbolic and Prophetic SignificanceThe roll or scroll often carries symbolic weight in biblical literature. In
Revelation 5:1-5 , the Apostle John describes a vision of a scroll with seven seals: "Then I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals." The opening of this scroll by the Lamb, who is Christ, signifies the unfolding of God's redemptive plan and the revelation of divine mysteries.
Cultural and Historical ContextIn ancient Jewish culture, scrolls were meticulously prepared and handled with great reverence. The process of creating a scroll involved skilled scribes who would carefully inscribe the text onto prepared animal skins or papyrus. The scrolls were then rolled up and stored in protective cases. This method of preservation ensured the accuracy and continuity of the biblical texts over generations.
Theological ImplicationsThe use of rolls or scrolls in the Bible emphasizes the written nature of God's revelation. It underscores the importance of Scripture as a tangible and authoritative record of God's communication with humanity. The imagery of the scroll also points to the unfolding of God's purposes in history, as seen in prophetic literature.
In summary, the concept of a "roll" in the Bible is rich with historical, cultural, and theological significance, serving as a testament to the enduring nature of God's Word.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
RollA book in ancient times consisted of a single long strip of paper or parchment, which was usually kept rolled upon a stick, and was unrolled when a person wished to read it. The roll was usually written on one side only, and hence the particular notice of one that was "written within and without." (Ezekiel 2:10) The writing was arranged in columns.
ATS Bible Dictionary
RollSeeBOOK.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
The common form of ancient books. The Hebrew word rendered "roll" or "volume" is meghillah, found in
Ezra 6:2;
Psalm 40:7;
Jeremiah 36:2, 6, 23, 28, 29;
Ezek. 2:9;
3:1-3;
Zechariah 5:1, 2. "Rolls" (Chald. pl. of sephar, corresponding to Hebrews sepher) in
Ezra 6:1 is rendered in the Revised Version "archives." In the New Testament the word "volume" (
Hebrews 10:7; R.V., "roll") occurs as the rendering of the Greek kephalis, meaning the head or top of the stick or cylinder on which the manuscript was rolled, and hence the manuscript itself. (see
BOOK.)
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) To cause to revolve by turning over and over; to move by turning on an axis; to impel forward by causing to turn over and over on a supporting surface; as, to roll a wheel, a ball, or a barrel.
2. (n.) To wrap round on itself; to form into a spherical or cylindrical body by causing to turn over and over; as, to roll a sheet of paper; to roll parchment; to roll clay or putty into a ball.
3. (n.) To bind or involve by winding, as in a bandage; to enwrap; -- often with up; as, to roll up a parcel.
4. (n.) To drive or impel forward with an easy motion, as of rolling; as, a river rolls its waters to the ocean.
5. (n.) To utter copiously, esp. with sounding words; to utter with a deep sound; -- often with forth, or out; as, to roll forth some one's praises; to roll out sentences.
6. (n.) To press or level with a roller; to spread or form with a roll, roller, or rollers; as, to roll a field; to roll paste; to roll steel rails, etc.
7. (n.) To move, or cause to be moved, upon, or by means of, rollers or small wheels.
8. (n.) To beat with rapid, continuous strokes, as a drum; to sound a roll upon.
9. (n.) To apply (one line or surface) to another without slipping; to bring all the parts of (one line or surface) into successive contact with another, in suck manner that at every instant the parts that have been in contact are equal.
10. (n.) To turn over in one's mind; to revolve.
11. (v. i.) To move, as a curved object may, along a surface by rotation without sliding; to revolve upon an axis; to turn over and over; as, a ball or wheel rolls on the earth; a body rolls on an inclined plane.
12. (v. i.) To move on wheels; as, the carriage rolls along the street.
13. (v. i.) To be wound or formed into a cylinder or ball; as, the cloth rolls unevenly; the snow rolls well.
14. (v. i.) To fall or tumble; -- with over; as, a stream rolls over a precipice.
15. (v. i.) To perform a periodical revolution; to move onward as with a revolution; as, the rolling year; ages roll away.
16. (v. i.) To turn; to move circularly.
17. (v. i.) To move, as waves or billows, with alternate swell and depression.
18. (v. i.) To incline first to one side, then to the other; to rock; as, there is a great difference in ships about rolling; in a general sense, to be tossed about.
19. (v. i.) To turn over, or from side to side, while lying down; to wallow; as, a horse rolls.
20. (v. i.) To spread under a roller or rolling-pin; as, the paste rolls well.
21. (v. i.) To beat a drum with strokes so rapid that they can scarcely be distinguished by the ear.
22. (v. i.) To make a loud or heavy rumbling noise; as, the thunder rolls.
23. (n.) The act of rolling, or state of being rolled; as, the roll of a ball; the roll of waves.
24. (v.) That which rolls; a roller.
25. (n.) A heavy cylinder used to break clods.
26. (n.) One of a set of revolving cylinders, or rollers, between which metal is pressed, formed, or smoothed, as in a rolling mill; as, to pass rails through the rolls.
27. (v.) That which is rolled up; as, a roll of fat, of wool, paper, cloth, etc.
28. (n.) A document written on a piece of parchment, paper, or other materials which may be rolled up; a scroll.
29. (v.) Hence, an official or public document; a register; a record; also, a catalogue; a list.
30. (n.) A quantity of cloth wound into a cylindrical form; as, a roll of carpeting; a roll of ribbon.
31. (n.) A cylindrical twist of tobacco.
32. (n.) A kind of shortened raised biscuit or bread, often rolled or doubled upon itself.
33. (n.) The oscillating movement of a vessel from side to side, in sea way, as distinguished from the alternate rise and fall of bow and stern called pitching.
34. (n.) A heavy, reverberatory sound; as, the roll of cannon, or of thunder.
35. (n.) The uniform beating of a drum with strokes so rapid as scarcely to be distinguished by the ear.
36. (v.) Part; office; duty; role.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
ROLL (SCROLL)rol: The usual form of book in Biblical times. It had been in use in Egypt for perhaps 2,000 years at the time when, according to the Pentateuch, the earliest Biblical books were written in this form. The Babylonian tablet seems to have been the prevailing form in Palestine up to about 1350 B.C., but by 1100 B.C., at least, the roll had been in established use for some time as far North as Byblos. Two Hebrew words, gillayon, meghillah, one Aramaic, cephar, and one Greek word, biblion, are so translated in the King James Version. Cephar (Ezra 6:1, the Revised Version (British and American) "archives, margin "books"), with the corresponding Hebrew form cepher, is the generic word for any whole work large or small, but as a book form (Isaiah 34:4) it may mean "roll," and, according to Blau (pp. 37, 45, etc.), it never does mean anything else. Both the other words seem to be connected with galal, "roll," which is the technical term for opening or closing a book. The meghillath cepher (Jeremiah 36:2) means the unwritten roll, or the roll considered in its material form as contrasted with the work. Meghillah, which is found inEzra 6:2 (English Versions of the Bible, "roll"), Jeremiah (often), Ezekiel (often) and Zechariah, is a somewhat late word, and came to mean a small roll (but with a complete work) as distinguished from a book, corresponding thus to the modern distinction of pamphlet and book or document and book. The word gillayon is translated in the Revised Version (British and American) as "tablet," and is universally regarded as meaning (Isaiah 8:1) some smooth surface, corresponding to the same word inIsaiah 3:23 which is rendered "hand-mirror." But "cylinder-seal" would possibly fit the sense in both cases; this being hung round the neck as an ornament in one case and inscribed with a personal name in the other.
Biblion is regarded by the Bible translators as equivalent to meghillah in the sense of small roll. It is in fact 4 times in the Septuagint ofJeremiah 36 used as the translation for meghillah, but very much oftener it is the translation for cepher, for which in fact it is the correct technical equivalent (Birt, Buchrolle, 21). Indeed the "small book" (Thayer, Lexicon, 101) is hardly consistent with the ideas of the heavens as a scroll, of the Lamb's Book of Life, or of the vast quantity of books ofJohn 21:25, although inLuke 4:17 it may perhaps correspond closely with meghillah in the sense of a complete roll and work, which is at the same time a whole part of a larger work. Its use inRevelation 6:14 is reminiscent ofIsaiah 34:4 ("scroll"), and is conclusive for the roll form. It is indeed always technically a roll and never codex or tablet.
It is not likely that Isaiah and John (here and in his Gospel, 21:25) refer directly to the Babylonian idea that the heavens are a series of written tablets or to the rabbinic saying that "if all the oceans were ink, all reeds pens, the heavens and earth sheets to write upon, and all men writers, still it would not suffice for writing out the teachings of my Masters" (Blau, op. cit., 34). Nevertheless, the "whole Cosmos" does suggest "the heavens and earth" as sheets to write on, and under all there does perhaps lurk a conception of the broad expanse of heaven as a roll for writing upon.
LITERATURE.
Birt, Die Buchrolle in der Kunst, Leipzig, 1907; Jew Encyclopedia, XI, 126-34, "Scroll of the Law"; Blau, Studien z. althebr. Buchwesen, Strassburg, 1902, 37-66, etc., and the literature under the article "Writing," especially Gardthausen, 134-54.
E. C. Richardson
Greek
617. apokulio -- toroll away... to
roll away. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: apokulio Phonetic Spelling:
(ap-ok-oo-lee'-o) Short Definition: I
roll away Definition: I
roll away.
...2947. kulio -- toroll
... toroll. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: kulio Phonetic Spelling:
(koo-lee-o'-o) Short Definition: Iroll Definition: Iroll,roll along, wallow....
4351. proskulio -- toroll to
... toroll to. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: proskulio Phonetic Spelling:
(pros-koo-lee'-o) Short Definition: Iroll to Definition: Iroll to,roll up...
2777. kephalis -- a little head, aroll
... a little head, aroll. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: kephalis
Phonetic Spelling: (kef-al-is') Short Definition: aroll, volume Definition: (lit...
1667. helisso -- toroll up, to coil
... toroll up, to coil. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: helisso Phonetic Spelling:
(hel-is'-so) Short Definition: Iroll,roll up Definition: Iroll,roll up...
2855b. kollurion -- a small breadroll, an eye salve (shaped like...
... 2855a, 2855b. kollurion. 2856 . a small breadroll, an eye salve (shaped like
aroll). Transliteration: kollurion Short Definition:roll. Word Origin dim....
1750. eneileo -- toroll in, to wind in
... toroll in, to wind in. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: eneileo Phonetic Spelling:
(en-i-leh'-o) Short Definition: I wrap up,roll up in something...
4428. ptusso -- to fold, ieroll up
... to fold, ieroll up. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: ptusso Phonetic Spelling:
(ptoos'-so) Short Definition: I fold,roll up Definition: I fold,roll up...
1507. heilisso --roll together.
... heilisso. 1508 .roll together....roll together. A prolonged form of a primary but
defective verb heilo (of the same meaning); to coil or wrap --roll together....
352a. anakulio -- toroll away or back
... 352, 352a. anakulio. 352b . toroll away or back. Transliteration: anakulio
Short Definition: away. Word Origin from ana and kulio...
Strong's Hebrew
1556. galal -- toroll,roll away... 1555, 1556. galal. 1557 . to
roll,
roll away. Transliteration: galal Phonetic
Spelling: (gaw-lal') Short Definition:
roll. Word Origin a prim.
...6428. palash -- (act of mourning) perhaps toroll in
... palash. 6429 . (act of mourning) perhaps toroll in. Transliteration: palash Phonetic
Spelling: (paw-lash') Short Definition:roll. Word Origin a prim....
7088. qaphad -- gather together,roll up
... 7087b, 7088. qaphad. 7089 . gather together,roll up. Transliteration: qaphad
Phonetic Spelling: (kaw-fad') Short Definition: rolled. Word Origin a prim....
829. eshpar -- perhaps cake orroll
... 828, 829. eshpar. 830 . perhaps cake orroll. Transliteration: eshpar
Phonetic Spelling: (esh-pawr') Short Definition: dates. Word...
4039. megillah -- a scroll
... Word Origin from galal Definition a scroll NASB Word Usage scroll (18), scroll*
(3).roll, volume. From galal; aroll --roll, volume. see HEBREW galal....
6801. tsanaph -- to wrap or wind up together
... Word Origin a prim. root Definition to wrap or wind up together NASB Word Usage
attired (1),roll you tightly (1). be attired, surely, violently turn....
4040. megillah -- a scroll
... scroll (1).roll. (Aramaic) corresponding to mgillah --roll. see HEBREW
mgillah. 4039, 4040. megillah. 4041 . Strong's Numbers.
1549. gillayon -- a table, tablet
... glass,roll. Or gilyown {ghil-yone'}; from galah; a tablet for writing (as bare);
by analogy, a mirror (as a plate) -- glass,roll. see HEBREW galah....
5609. sephar -- a book
... book,roll. (Aramaic) from a root corresponding to caphar; a book -- book,roll.
see HEBREW caphar. 5608, 5609. sephar. 5610 . Strong's Numbers.
6424. palas -- to weigh, make level
... make, ponder, weigh. A primitive root; properly, toroll flat, ie Prepare (a road);
also to revolve, ie Weigh (mentally) -- make, ponder, weigh. 6423, 6424....
Library
Jeremiah'sRoll Burned and Reproduced
... JEREMIAH'SROLL BURNED AND REPRODUCED. 'Then took Jeremiah anotherroll,
and gave it to Baruch ... who wrote therein ... all the...
Three Names High on the Muster-Roll
... Three Names High on the Muster-roll. A Sermon (No.2217). Intended for Reading
on Lord's-Day, August 16th, 1891,. Delivered by. CH SPURGEON,....
Easter Day 177. Angels,Roll the Rock Away
... II. THE CHRISTIAN YEAR Easter Day 177. Angels,roll the rock away. 7.7.7.7.8.7... Thomas
Gibbons, 1775. Angels,roll the rock away! Death, yield up the mighty Prey!...
Calling theRoll of Heaven.
... Calling theRoll of Heaven. A soldier, wounded during our last war, lay
dying in his cot. Suddenly the deathlike stillness of the...
How Abbot John Obeyed his Senior by Trying toRoll a Huge Stone...
... Prolegomena. Chapter XXVI. How Abbot John obeyed his senior by trying toroll
a huge stone, which a large number of men were unable to move....
Times Lose no Time; nor do theyRoll Idly By...
... Book IV Chapter VIII Times lose no time; nor do theyroll idly by? Times
lose no time; nor do theyroll idly by; through our senses...
Old and New Year 443. A Few More Years ShallRoll
... IV. SPECIAL OCCASIONS Old and New Year 443. A few more years shallroll. SMD... Horatius
Bonar, 1842. A few more years shallroll,. A few more seasons come,....
The Writing of an Ancient Book
... When Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, had been ruler for four years, this message came
to Jeremiah from Jehovah, "Take a parchmentroll and write on it all the...
The Restoration of the Jews.
... estate."The deeds deposited."Baruch writes Jeremiah's prophecies."He reads them
to the people."Baruch summoned before the council."Theroll sent to...
Lost Earnings
... For the comfort of his own heart he pulled out hisroll of assurance.
He also began to examine with great satisfaction the coat...
Thesaurus
Roll (57 Occurrences)... The common form of ancient books. The Hebrew word rendered "
roll" or "volume" is
meghillah, found in Ezra 6:2; Psalm 40:7; Jeremiah 36:2, 6, 23, 28, 29; Ezek.
...Scroll (70 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) Aroll of paper or parchment; a writing formed
into aroll; a schedule; a list.... Standard Bible Encyclopedia.ROLL (SCROLL)....
Tablet (7 Occurrences)
... In Isaiah (30:8) where the Revised Version (British and American) translates "tablet,"
it is contrasted with the "roll" and probably means the wood or waxed...
Volume (4 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) Aroll; a scroll; a written document rolled
up for keeping or for use, after the manner of the ancients....
Neri'ah (8 Occurrences)
... And Jeremiah calleth Baruch son of Neriah, and Baruch writeth from the mouth of
Jeremiah all the words of Jehovah, that He hath spoken unto him, on aroll of a...
Nerijah (8 Occurrences)
... Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Nerijah; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah
all the words of Jehovah, which he had spoken unto him, upon aroll of a...
Jehu'di (3 Occurrences)
... Jeremiah 36:14 and all the heads send unto Baruch, Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son
of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, saying, 'Theroll in which thou hast read in the...
Wallow (5 Occurrences)
... 1. (n.) Toroll one's self about, as in mire; to tumble androll about; to move
lazily or heavily in any medium; to flounder; as, swine wallow in the mire....
Samaritan (8 Occurrences)
... CODICES AND SCRIPT 1. NablusRoll 2. The Script 3. Peculiarities of Writing 4. The
Tarikh 5. The Mode of Pronunciation 6. Age of the NablusRoll III....
Baruch (24 Occurrences)
... He afterwards read them before the counsellors of the king at a private interview;
and then to the king himself, who, after hearing a part of theroll, cut it...
Resources
What does the Bible say about spreading rumors? | GotQuestions.orgIs Christian rock music appropriate? | GotQuestions.orgWho was Jonah in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgRoll: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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