Bible Dictionary
FOURSQUARE
Foursquare means equal in length and breadth, forming a square or having four equal sides. Scripture applies the shape to altars, sacred furnishings, courts, and the New Jerusalem.
Definition
Foursquare means equal in length and breadth, forming a square or having four equal sides. The term conveys regularity, symmetry, and completeness of shape. It can describe altars, sacred furnishings, temple features, courts, a holy portion, and the New Jerusalem.
Biblical Usage
Scripture applies foursquare form to the altar of burnt offering, the altar of incense, the high priest’s breastplate, temple panels, Ezekiel’s court and holy oblation, and the New Jerusalem in John’s vision. In these descriptions, the shape conveys perfect symmetry.
Historical Background
The Hebrew term is related to the number four, while the Greek term means four-angled or four-sided. An older use of “five-square” reflects the former sense of square as equal-sided rather than strictly four-sided.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>for'-skwar (rabha`; tetragonos):</p><p>"Foursquare," meaning equal in length and breadth, not round, is the translation of rabha` (from obsolete rebha`, "four"); it occurs in the description of the altar of burnt offering (Ex 27:1; 38:1); of the altar of incense (Ex 30:2; 37:25); of the breastplate of the high priest (Ex 28:16; 39:9); of the panels of the gravings upon the mouth of the brazen or molten sea in Solomon's temple (1Ki 7:31); of the inner court of Ezekiel's temple (Eze 40:47); of "the holy oblation" of the city of Ezekiel's vision (Eze 48:20, rebhi`i, "fourth"); of the new Jerusalem of John's vision (Re 21:16, tetragonos), and conveys the idea of perfect symmetry. In the King James Version marginof 1Ki 6:31, we have "five-square," square being formerly used for equal-sided, as it still is in "three-square file."</p><p>W. L. Walker</p>