Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical terms, the word "scale" can refer to various concepts, including physical scales used for weighing, metaphorical scales representing justice and fairness, and scales as a feature of certain animals. Each of these uses provides insight into the cultural, spiritual, and moral teachings found within the Bible.
1.
Scales in Weighing and Commerce:Scales were an essential tool in ancient commerce, used to measure goods and ensure fair trade. The Bible frequently emphasizes the importance of honesty and integrity in business dealings.
Proverbs 11:1 states, "Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight." This verse underscores the divine expectation for fairness and truthfulness in economic transactions. Similarly,
Leviticus 19:35-36 instructs, "You must not use dishonest measures of length, weight, or volume. You shall maintain just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin."
2.
Scales as a Symbol of Justice:The imagery of scales is often used metaphorically to represent justice and divine judgment. In the prophetic literature, scales symbolize God's righteous assessment of human actions. For instance, in
Daniel 5:27, during the interpretation of the writing on the wall, Daniel tells King Belshazzar, "TEKEL means that you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient." This passage illustrates the concept of divine judgment, where God evaluates the moral and spiritual weight of individuals and nations.
3.
Scales on Animals:The Bible also mentions scales in the context of animals, particularly in the dietary laws given to the Israelites.
Leviticus 11:9-10 outlines the criteria for clean and unclean aquatic creatures: "Of all the creatures that live in the water, whether in the seas or the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales. But anything that does not have fins and scales—whether in the seas or in the streams—among all the swarming things and all the other living creatures in the water—they are to be detestable to you." This distinction between clean and unclean animals was part of the broader Levitical code, which aimed to set the Israelites apart as a holy people.
4.
Scales in Apocalyptic Imagery:In the apocalyptic literature of the Bible, scales can also appear as part of symbolic visions. In
Revelation 6:5, during the opening of the third seal, John describes a rider on a black horse holding a pair of scales in his hand. This imagery is often interpreted as representing economic hardship and famine, where the scales denote the careful rationing of food and resources during times of scarcity.
The concept of scales in the Bible, whether literal or metaphorical, serves as a powerful reminder of the values of justice, honesty, and divine judgment. Through these various uses, the biblical text communicates the importance of living a life that aligns with God's standards of righteousness and fairness.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) The dish of a balance; hence, the balance itself; an instrument or machine for weighing; as, to turn the scale; -- chiefly used in the plural when applied to the whole instrument or apparatus for weighing. Also used figuratively.
2. (n.) The sign or constellation Libra.
3. (v. t.) To weigh or measure according to a scale; to measure; also, to grade or vary according to a scale or system.
4. (n.) One of the small, thin, membranous, bony or horny pieces which form the covering of many fishes and reptiles, and some mammals, belonging to the dermal part of the skeleton, or dermoskeleton. See Cycloid, Ctenoid, and Ganoid.
5. (n.) Hence, any layer or leaf of metal or other material, resembling in size and thinness the scale of a fish; as, a scale of iron, of bone, etc.
6. (n.) One of the small scale like structures covering parts of some invertebrates, as those on the wings of Lepidoptera and on the body of Thysanura; the elytra of certain annelids. See Lepidoptera.
7. (n.) A scale insect. (See below.)
8. (n.) A small appendage like a rudimentary leaf, resembling the scales of a fish in form, and often in arrangement; as, the scale of a bud, of a pine cone, and the like. The name is also given to the chaff on the stems of ferns.
9. (n.) The thin metallic side plate of the handle of a pocketknife.
10. (n.) An incrustation deposit on the inside of a vessel in which water is heated, as a steam boiler.
11. (n.) The thin oxide which forms on the surface of iron forgings. Also, a similar coating upon other metals.
12. (v. t.) To strip or clear of scale or scales; as, to scale a fish; to scale the inside of a boiler.
13. (v. t.) To take off in thin layers or scales, as tartar from the teeth; to pare off, as a surface.
14. (v. t.) To scatter; to spread.
15. (v. t.) To clean, as the inside of a cannon, by the explosion of a small quantity of powder.
16. (v. i.) To separate and come off in thin layers or laminate; as, some sandstone scales by exposure.
17. (v. i.) To separate; to scatter.
18. (n.) A ladder; a series of steps; a means of ascending.
19. (n.) Hence, anything graduated, especially when employed as a measure or rule, or marked by lines at regular intervals.
20. (n.) A mathematical instrument, consisting of a slip of wood, ivory, or metal, with one or more sets of spaces graduated and numbered on its surface, for measuring or laying off distances, etc., as in drawing, plotting, and the like. See Gunter's scale.
21. (n.) A series of spaces marked by lines, and representing proportionately larger distances; as, a scale of miles, yards, feet, etc., for a map or plan.
22. (n.) A basis for a numeral system; as, the decimal scale; the binary scale, etc.
23. (n.) The graduated series of all the tones, ascending or descending, from the keynote to its octave; -- called also the gamut. It may be repeated through any number of octaves. See Chromatic scale, Diatonic scale, Major scale, and Minor scale, under Chromatic, Diatonic, Major, and Minor.
24. (n.) Gradation; succession of ascending and descending steps and degrees; progressive series; scheme of comparative rank or order; as, a scale of being.
25. (n.) Relative dimensions, without difference in proportion of parts; size or degree of the parts or components in any complex thing, compared with other like things; especially, the relative proportion of the linear dimensions of the parts of a drawing, map, model, etc., to the dimensions of the corresponding parts of the object that is represented; as, a map on a scale of an inch to a mile.
26. (v. t.) To climb by a ladder, or as if by a ladder; to ascend by steps or by climbing; to clamber up; as, to scale the wall of a fort.
27. (v. i.) To lead up by steps; to ascend.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
SCALEskal.
SeeSIEGE 4, (e);WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
Greek
3013. lepis -- ascale (of a fish)... a
scale (of a fish). Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: lepis Phonetic
Spelling: (lep-is') Short Definition: a
scale, scaly substance Definition: a
...2661. kataxioo -- to deem worthy
... 2661 (from 2596 , ", exactly according to," which intensifies 515 , "weighing as
much as, proportional") -- properly, to (on a balance-scale) which ; that...
2218. zugos -- a yoke
... [2218 () two elements to work as , like when two pans (weights) operate together
on a balance-scale -- or a of oxen pulling a plough.]....
4346. prosklisis -- to cause to lean against
... 4346 (from 4314 , "towards" and 2827 , "incline") -- properly, the direction a
balance-scale because tipped one way; (figuratively) pre-inclination, , (undue...
Strong's Hebrew
7193. qasqeseth --scale (of fish)... 7192, 7193. qasqeseth. 7194 .
scale (of fish). Transliteration: qasqeseth Phonetic
Spelling: (kas-keh'-seth) Short Definition: scales.
... mail,
scale.
...2636. chaspas --scale-like
... 2635, 2636. chaspas. 2637 .scale-like. Transliteration: chaspas Phonetic
Spelling: (khas-pas') Short Definition: thing. Word Origin...
3977. mozanya -- ascale, balance
... 3976, 3977. mozanya. 3978 . ascale, balance. Transliteration: mozanya
Phonetic Spelling: (mo-zane') Short Definition: scales. Word...
6425. peles -- a balance,scale
... 6424, 6425. peles. 6426 . a balance,scale. Transliteration: peles Phonetic
Spelling: (peh'-les) Short Definition: balance. Word...
650. aphiq -- a channel
... tubes (1). brook, channel, mighty, river,scale, stream, strong piece. From
'acaph; properly, containing, ie A tube; also a bed or...
4043. magen -- a shield
... 1), scales (1), shield (41), shields (16). armed, buckler, defense, ruler,
scale, shield. Also (in plural) feminine mginnah {meg-in...
5630. siryon -- armor
... 5629, 5630. siryon. 5631 . armor. Transliteration: siryon Phonetic Spelling:
(sir-yone') Short Definition:scale-armor. Word Origin...
5424. netheq -- scab
... 5423, 5424. netheq. 5425 . scab. Transliteration: netheq Phonetic Spelling:
(neh'-thek) Short Definition:scale. Word Origin from...
5927. alah -- to go up, ascend, climb
... self) up, light, (make) up, X mention, mount up, offer, make to pay, + perfect,
prefer, put (on), raise, recover, restore, (make to) rise (up),scale, set (up...
3976. mozen -- balances, scales
... Word Origin from azan Definition balances, scales NASB Word Usage balance
(1), balances (5),scale (1), scales (8). a pair of scales....
Library
The Arrest of the Body
... at the long array of less accurate instruments of prehension which shade away with
ever decreasing delicacy and perfectness as we descend thescale of animal...
December 27:
... then the ear, then the full corn in the ear." It is well known also to those who
study the parables of Nature that there is an ascendingscale of slowness as...
"But," it is Said, "This Change in Our Body by Birth is a Weakness...
... by Himself, by virtue of that power which had mingled with both of these component
elements at their first framing, then, upon a more generalscale as it were...
And Now we May Well Compare the Present with Former Things...
... performed the crowning good of all, by erecting triumphant memorials of its value
in all parts of the world, raising temples and churches on ascale of royal...
The Delays of Love
... of the most yearning expectation and fulfilled desire will seem but as the winking
of an eyelid when we get to estimate duration by the samescale by which He...
Seeking and Finding
... They sail uncharted seas, endure the scorching heat of the desert,scale the
ice-covered mountains, and brave the dangers of a trackless wilderness in hope of...
Letter vii. Self-Denial.
... No individual has a right to attach to himself any more importance than properly
belongs to the station he occupies in the grandscale of being, of which God...
Two Ancient Proverbs
... to him to tell a lie as to speak the truth; and I think every parent must know that
all the faults a child can commit, if put into thescale together, are not...
I Will Take one Case that Will Serve Both as Symbol and Example...
... It lies in the fact that the colors are presented in the wrong connection,
on the wrongscale, and, above all, from the wrong motive....
The Water-Mark of John's Gospel.
... The underneath word, that John uses in his own mother tongue, runs a slidingscale
of meaning. It's a ladder rising from bottom round to topmost....
Thesaurus
Scale (38 Occurrences)... 1. (n.) The dish of a balance; hence, the balance itself; an instrument or machine
for weighing; as, to turn the
scale; -- chiefly used in the plural when
...Scale-armor (3 Occurrences)
Scale-armor.Scale,Scale-armor. Scaled . Multi-Version Concordance
Scale-armor (3 Occurrences). 1 Samuel 17:5 and a...
Scale-like (1 Occurrence)
Scale-like. Scaled,Scale-like. Scales . Multi-Version Concordance
Scale-like (1 Occurrence). Exodus 16:14 And when...
Plate (34 Occurrences)
... Numbers 7:13 And his offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels
in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by thescale of the holy place...
Basin (37 Occurrences)
... Numbers 7:13 And his offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels
in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by thescale of the holy place...
Octave (3 Occurrences)
... 1. (n.) The eighth tone in thescale; the interval between one and eight of the
scale, or any interval of equal length; an interval of five tones and two...
A (102073 Occurrences)
... 2. (n.) The name of the sixth tone in the model majorscale (that in C), or the
first tone of the minorscale, which is named after it thescale in A minor....
Scales (33 Occurrences)
... skalz (1) qasqeseth "fish-scales"; (2) meghinnah, maghen, "scales of the crocodile";
(3) lepis, with verb lepizo "scale away" (Tobit 3:17; 11:13)): (1) The...
Worm (22 Occurrences)
... SCARLET (WORM). (tola`ath shani (Exodus 25:4, etc.)): Cermes vermilio, ascale insect
from which a red dye is obtained. See COLOR; DYEING; WORM....
Weight (143 Occurrences)
... 5. (n.) Ascale, or graduated standard, of heaviness; a mode of estimating weight;
as, avoirdupois weight; troy weight; apothecaries' weight....
Resources
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