Bible Encyclopedia: Scroll

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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 in Ezra 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 in Isaiah 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 of Jeremiah 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 of John 21:25, although in Luke 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 in Revelation 6:14 is reminiscent of Isaiah 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

SCROLL

skrol.

See ROLL.

Greek

976. biblos -- (the inner) bark (of a papyrus plant), hence a ...
... 975, 976. biblos. 977 . (the inner) bark (of a papyrus plant), hence a scroll,
spec. a book. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/976.htm - 6k

975. biblion -- a paper, book
... Word Origin from biblos Definition a paper, book NASB Word Usage book (27),
books (4), certificate (2), scroll (1). book, scroll, writing. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/975.htm - 6k

4428. ptusso -- to fold, ie roll up
... roll up. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: ptusso Phonetic Spelling:
(ptoos'-so) Short Definition: I fold, roll up Definition: I fold, roll up (as a ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4428.htm - 6k

2777. kephalis -- a little head, a roll
... a book). Word Origin dim. of kephale Definition a little head, a roll NASB
Word Usage scroll (1). volume, roll of a book. From kephale ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2777.htm - 6k

3089. luo -- to loose, to release, to dissolve
... release (unbind) so something no longer holds together; (figuratively) release what
has been held back (like Christ "releasing" the seven seals in the scroll in ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3089.htm - 9k

380. anaptusso -- to unroll
... Word Origin another reading for anoigo, qv. to unroll From ana (in the sense of
reversal) and ptusso; to unroll (a scroll or volume) -- open. see GREEK ana. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/380.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

4039. megillah -- a scroll
... 4038, 4039. megillah. 4040 . a scroll. Transliteration: megillah Phonetic
Spelling: (meg-il-law') Short Definition: scroll. Word ...
/hebrew/4039.htm - 6k

4040. megillah -- a scroll
... 4039, 4040. megillah. 4041 . a scroll. Transliteration: megillah Phonetic
Spelling: (meg-il-law') Short Definition: scroll. Word ...
/hebrew/4040.htm - 6k

5612. sepher -- a missive, document, writing, book
... certificate (3), deed (6), deeds (3), illiterate* (1), indictment (1), letter (14),
letters (15), literate* (1), literature (2), read* (1), scroll (6), scroll ...
/hebrew/5612.htm - 6k

7080. qasam -- to practice divination
... A primitive root; properly, to distribute, ie Determine by lot or magical scroll;
by implication, to divine -- divine(-r, -ation), prudent, soothsayer, use ...
/hebrew/7080.htm - 6k

Library

Allegorical Explanation of the Firmament and Upper Works, Ver. 6
... Scripture? [1261] As it is said, For heaven shall be folded up like a scroll;
[1262] and now it is extended over us like a skin. ...
/.../the confessions and letters of st/chapter xv allegorical explanation of the.htm

Or Who, Except Thou, Our God, Made for us that Firmament of ...
... Divine Scripture? as it is said, For heaven shall be folded up like a scroll;
and now is it stretched over us like a skin. For Thy ...
/.../augustine/the confessions of saint augustine/chapter xv or who except.htm

"The Pharaoh Drew Nigh"
... In the wavering light of the flambeau, Nechutes read the address on the linen scroll. ...
Then he turned the scroll over and over in his hands, inspecting it. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/miller/the yoke/chapter xliii the pharaoh drew.htm

Marriage of the Blessed virgin to Joseph
... carried on a chair by others before the Holy of Holies, and that while the
incense-offering was being kindled, he read prayers from a parchment scroll lying ...
/.../emmerich/the life of the blessed virgin mary/vii marriage of the blessed.htm

Opposition to Messiah Ruinous
... is that truly sublime passage of the prophet, And all the host of heaven shall be
dissolved; and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all ...
/.../newton/messiah vol 2/sermon xxxv opposition to messiah.htm

The Idols Crumble
... With a cry, Kenkenes leaped to his feet and wrenched the scroll from the man's hand.
With unsteady fingers he ripped off the linen cover and read. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/miller/the yoke/chapter xxviii the idols crumble.htm

The Sixth Seal.
... mighty wind. And the heaven departed like a scroll rolled together; and every
mountain and island were removed from their places. And ...
/.../bliss/a brief commentary on the apocalypse/the sixth seal.htm

Jesus visits his Old Home
... the lesson. And he was given the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and on
unrolling it he found the place where it is written: "The ...
/.../sherman/the childrens bible/jesus visits his old home.htm

The Presentation of the Blessed virgin in the Temple
... end. The taller of the two boys opened his scroll and came up to me, and
read something out of it which he explained to me. The ...
/.../emmerich/the life of the blessed virgin mary/iii the presentation of the.htm

The First Galilean Ministry.
... When unrolling, and holding the scroll, much more than the sixty-first
chapter of Isaiah must have been within range of His eyes. ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xi the first galilean.htm

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) A roll of paper or parchment; a writing formed into a roll; a schedule; a list.

2. (n.) An ornament formed of undulations giving off spirals or sprays, usually suggestive of plant form. Roman architectural ornament is largely of some scroll pattern.

3. (n.) A mark or flourish added to a person's signature, intended to represent a seal, and in some States allowed as a substitute for a seal.

4. (n.) Same as Skew surface. See under Skew.

Thesaurus

Scroll (70 Occurrences)
... Roman architectural ornament is largely of some scroll pattern. ... Int. Standard Bible
Encyclopedia. ROLL (SCROLL). rol: The usual form of book in Biblical times. ...
/s/scroll.htm - 32k

Neriah (10 Occurrences)
... Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah
all the words of Yahweh, which he had spoken to him, on a scroll of a book ...
/n/neriah.htm - 10k

Jehudi (3 Occurrences)
... 14 Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah,
the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, Take in your hand the scroll in which ...
/j/jehudi.htm - 8k

Dictation (5 Occurrences)
... Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah
all the words of Yahweh, which he had spoken to him, on a scroll of a book ...
/d/dictation.htm - 8k

Roll (57 Occurrences)
... 28. (n.) A document written on a piece of parchment, paper, or other materials which
may be rolled up; a scroll. 29. ... Standard Bible Encyclopedia. ROLL (SCROLL). ...
/r/roll.htm - 33k

Dictated (4 Occurrences)
... Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah
all the words of Yahweh, which he had spoken to him, on a scroll of a book ...
/d/dictated.htm - 7k

Nethaniah (20 Occurrences)
... 14 Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah,
the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, Take in your hand the scroll in which ...
/n/nethaniah.htm - 15k

Cushi (7 Occurrences)
... 14 Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah,
the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, Take in your hand the scroll in which ...
/c/cushi.htm - 10k

Scrolls (3 Occurrences)
... Revelation 20:12 and I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and scrolls
were opened, and another scroll was opened, which is that of the life ...
/s/scrolls.htm - 7k

Shelemiah (10 Occurrences)
... 14 Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah,
the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, Take in your hand the scroll in which ...
/s/shelemiah.htm - 12k

Bible Concordance

Scroll (70 Occurrences)

Luke 3:4 as it hath been written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying, 'A voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, straight make ye His paths;
(YLT)

Luke 4:20 He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him.
(See NIV)

Hebrews 9:19 For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
(See NIV)

Hebrews 10:7 Then I said,'Behold, I have come (in the scroll of the book it is written of me) to do your will, O God.'"
(WEB NAS NIV)

Revelation 3:5 He who is overcoming -- this one -- shall be arrayed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the scroll of the life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before His messengers.
(YLT)

Revelation 5:1 And I saw upon the right hand of Him who is sitting upon the throne a scroll, written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals;
(YLT RSV NIV)

Revelation 5:2 and I saw a strong messenger crying with a great voice, 'Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose the seals of it?'
(YLT RSV NIV)

Revelation 5:3 and no one was able in the heaven, nor upon the earth, nor under the earth, to open the scroll, nor to behold it.
(YLT RSV NIV)

Revelation 5:4 And I was weeping much, because no one was found worthy to open and to read the scroll, nor to behold it,
(YLT RSV NIV)

Revelation 5:5 and one of the elders saith to me, 'Weep not; lo, overcome did the Lion, who is of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, to open the scroll, and to loose the seven seals of it;
(YLT RSV NIV)

Revelation 5:7 and he came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who is sitting upon the throne.
(YLT RSV NIV)

Revelation 5:8 And when he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, having each one harps and golden vials full of perfumes, which are the prayers of the saints,
(YLT RSV)

Revelation 5:9 and they sing a new song, saying, 'Worthy art thou to take the scroll, and to open the seals of it, because thou wast slain, and didst redeem us to God in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation,
(YLT RSV NIV)

Revelation 6:14 The sky was removed like a scroll when it is rolled up. Every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Revelation 10:2 In his hand he held a small scroll unrolled; and, planting his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,
(WEY YLT RSV NIV)

Revelation 10:8 And the voice that I heard out of the heaven is again speaking with me, and saying, 'Go, take the little scroll that is open in the hand of the messenger who hath been standing upon the sea, and upon the land:'
(YLT RSV NIV)

Revelation 10:9 and I went away unto the messenger, saying to him, 'Give me the little scroll;' and he saith to me, 'Take, and eat it up, and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet -- as honey.'
(YLT RSV NIV)

Revelation 10:10 And I took the little scroll out of the hand of the messenger, and did eat it up, and it was in my mouth as honey -- sweet, and when I did eat it -- my belly was made bitter;
(YLT RSV NIV)

Revelation 13:8 And bow before it shall all who are dwelling upon the land, whose names have not been written in the scroll of the life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world;
(YLT)

Revelation 17:8 The beast that thou didst see: it was, and it is not; and it is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go away to destruction, and wonder shall those dwelling upon the earth, whose names have not been written upon the scroll of the life from the foundation of the world, beholding the beast that was, and is not, although it is.
(YLT)

Revelation 20:12 and I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and scrolls were opened, and another scroll was opened, which is that of the life, and the dead were judged out of the things written in the scrolls -- according to their works;
(Root in YLT)

Revelation 20:15 and if any one was not found written in the scroll of the life, he was cast to the lake of the fire.
(YLT)

Revelation 21:27 and there may not at all enter into it any thing defiling and doing abomination, and a lie, but -- those written in the scroll of the life of the Lamb.
(YLT)

Revelation 22:7 Lo, I come quickly; happy 'is' he who is keeping the words of the prophecy of this scroll.'
(YLT)

Revelation 22:9 and he saith to me, 'See -- not; for fellow-servant of thee am I, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of those keeping the words of this scroll; before God bow.'
(YLT)

Revelation 22:10 And he saith to me, 'Thou mayest not seal the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is nigh;
(YLT)

Revelation 22:18 For I testify to every one hearing the words of the prophecy of this scroll, if any one may add unto these, God shall add to him the plagues that have been written in this scroll,
(YLT)

Revelation 22:19 and if any one may take away from the words of the scroll of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the scroll of the life, and out of the holy city, and the things that have been written in this scroll;'
(YLT)

Numbers 5:23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out into the water of bitterness:
(See JPS NAS NIV)

Deuteronomy 17:18 It shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
(See NAS NIV)

Joshua 18:9 And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven portions in a book, and they came to Joshua unto the camp at Shiloh.
(See NIV)

1 Samuel 10:25 Then Samuel told the people the regulations of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before Yahweh. Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
(See NIV)

Ezra 6:2 There was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of Media, a scroll, and therein was thus written for a record:
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Job 19:23 Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
(See NIV)

Psalms 40:7 Then I said, "Behold, I have come. It is written about me in the book in the scroll.
(WEB NAS NIV)

Psalms 56:8 You number my wanderings. You put my tears into your bottle. Aren't they in your book?
(See NIV)

Isaiah 8:1 And the LORD said unto me: 'Take thee a great tablet, and write upon it in common script: The spoil speedeth, the prey hasteth;
(See NIV)

Isaiah 29:11 And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book which is shut, which men give to one who has knowledge of writing, saying, Make clear to us what is in the book: and he says, I am not able to, for the book is shut:
(See NIV)

Isaiah 29:12 And they give it to one without learning, saying, Make clear to us what is in the book: and he says, I have no knowledge of writing.
(See NIV)

Isaiah 29:18 And in that day those whose ears are stopped will be hearing the words of the book; and the eyes of the blind will see through the mist and the dark.
(See NIV)

Isaiah 30:8 Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever.
(See NAS NIV)

Isaiah 34:4 All of the army of the sky will be dissolved. The sky will be rolled up like a scroll, and all its armies will fade away, as a leaf fades from off a vine or a fig tree.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:2 Take a scroll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day.
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:4 Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of Yahweh, which he had spoken to him, on a scroll of a book.
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:6 therefore you go, and read in the scroll, which you have written from my mouth, the words of Yahweh in the ears of the people in Yahweh's house on the fast day; and also you shall read them in the ears of all Judah who come out of their cities.
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:8 Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of Yahweh in Yahweh's house.
(See RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:10 and Baruch readeth in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of Jehovah, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the opening of the new gate of the house of Jehovah, in the ears of all the people.
(See RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:11 When Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all the words of Yahweh,
(See RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:13 Then Micaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people.
(See RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:14 Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, Take in your hand the scroll in which you have read in the ears of the people, and come. So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand, and came to them.
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:18 Then Baruch answered them, He pronounced all these words to me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.
(See RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:20 They went in to the king into the court; but they had laid up the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe; and they told all the words in the ears of the king.
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:21 So the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll; and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes who stood beside the king.
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:23 It happened, when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, that the king cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier.
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:25 Moreover Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the scroll; but he would not hear them.
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:27 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the scroll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:28 Take again another scroll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned.
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:29 Concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, Thus says Yahweh: You have burned this scroll, saying, Why have you written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from there man and animal?
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:32 Then took Jeremiah another scroll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and there were added besides to them many like words.
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 45:1 The message that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,
(See NIV)

Jeremiah 51:60 Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come on Babylon, even all these words that are written concerning Babylon.
(See NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 51:63 It shall be, when you have made an end of reading this book, that you shall bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates:
(See NAS NIV)

Ezekiel 2:9 When I looked, behold, a hand was put forth to me; and, behold, a scroll of a book was therein;
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 3:1 He said to me, Son of man, eat that which you find. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 3:2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat the scroll.
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 3:3 He said to me, Son of man, cause your belly to eat, and fill your bowels with this scroll that I give you. Then I ate it; and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Daniel 12:4 But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run back and forth, and knowledge shall be increased."
(See NIV)

Zechariah 5:1 Then again I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, a flying scroll.
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Zechariah 5:2 He said to me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits, and its breadth ten cubits."
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Malachi 3:16 Then those who feared Yahweh spoke one with another; and Yahweh listened, and heard, and a book of memory was written before him, for those who feared Yahweh, and who honored his name.
(See NIV)

Subtopics

Scroll

Related Terms

Neriah (10 Occurrences)

Jehudi (3 Occurrences)

Dictation (5 Occurrences)

Roll (57 Occurrences)

Dictated (4 Occurrences)

Nethaniah (20 Occurrences)

Cushi (7 Occurrences)

Scrolls (3 Occurrences)

Shelemiah (10 Occurrences)