Bible Dictionary
LINE
A line may be a measuring cord, boundary, or ordinary thread. In Scripture it can mark property, measure a place, symbolize a rule or standard, and describe the heavens’ extent.
Definition
A line may be a measuring cord, boundary, ordinary cord, or thread. In biblical usage it can mark or measure territory, indicate the extent of a place, and suggest a rule or standard. The word may also denote a writing instrument or a province, depending on the translation and context.
Biblical Usage
Lines measure places and boundaries in passages concerning Jerusalem, the temple vision, and territorial allotments. The line extending through all the earth in Psalm 19:4 probably refers to measurement, portraying the heavens as spanning and bounding the earth. As a measure, the line also suggests a rule of conduct.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>lin (qaw, chebhel): Usually of a measuring line, as Jer 31:39; Eze 47:3; Zec 1:16 (qaw); Ps 78:55; Am 7:17; Zec 2:1 (chebhel). Other Hebrew words mean simply a cord or thread (Jos 2:18,21; 1Ki 7:15; Eze 40:3). In Ps 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 Ro 10:18, takes it as meaning a musical cord phthoggos). The "line," as measure, suggests rule of conduct (Isa 28:10). For "line" in Isa 44:13, the Revised Version (British and American) reads "pencil," margin "red ochre" (seredh), and in 2Co 10:16, "province," margin "limit" (kanon).</p><p>See also MEASURING LINE; WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.</p><p>James Orr</p>