The meaning of Line in the Bible
(From International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)

lin (qaw, chebhel): Usually of a measuring line, as Jeremiah 31:39; Ezekiel 47:3; Zechariah 1:16 (qaw); Psalms 78:55; Amos 7:17; Zechariah 2:1 (chebhel). Other Hebrew words mean simply a cord or thread (Joshua 2:18, Joshua 2:21; I Kings 7:15; Ezekiel 40:3). In Psalms 19:4 (qaw, "Their line is gone out through all the earth"), the reference is probably still to measurement (the heaven as spanning and bounding the earth), though the Septuagint, followed by Romans 10:18, takes it as meaning a musical cord phthoggos). The "line," as measure, suggests rule of conduct (Isaiah 28:10). For "line" in Isaiah 44:13, the Revised Version (British and American) reads "pencil," margin "red ochre" (seredh), and in II Corinthians 10:16, "province," margin "limit" (kanon).

See also MEASURING LINE; WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

James Orr

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