Bible Dictionary

WASHPOT

Objects & Symbols • Old Testament
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A washpot was a vessel used for washing. In the image “Moab is my washpot,” Moab is portrayed as subject to contemptuous service under the conqueror.

Definition

A washpot is a vessel used for washing. The word can also serve as an image of something treated as a conquered person’s property and put to contemptuous use.

Biblical Usage

In the psalmic statement “Moab is my washpot,” Moab is portrayed as the conqueror’s chattel, comparable to a vessel used for washing the conqueror’s feet.

Historical Background

The expression translates a term meaning a vessel for washing.

Historical Bible Dictionaries

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>wosh'-pot (sir rachats, "vessel for washing"): Only Ps 60:8 = 108:9, "Moab is my washpot"; i.e. "Moab is my chattel, to betreated contemptuously," as the vessel in which the conqueror's feet are washed.</p>
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