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Bible Encyclopedias
Balance
The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia
or The word is used for three Hebrew words: (1) "mo'znaim" (Jeremiah 32:10; Job 6:2; Psalms 62:9; Isa. 12, 15; Leviticus 19:36; Job 31:6; Proverbs 11:11, etc.). (2) "ḳaneh" (Isaiah 46:6), and (3) "peles" (Proverbs 16:11). The Balance, as used among the Hebrews, consisted probably of a horizontal bar either pivoted on a perpendicular rod (for a similar Egyptian Balance see Erman, "Ãgypten," 1:615) or suspended from a cord and held in the hand. At the end of the horizontal bar were either pans or hooks from which the things to be weighed were suspended in bags. Abraham is represented as weighing money (Genesis 23:16); and although the Balance in early days was rather rudely constructed, the weighing could be done accurately. The system was, however, very liable to fraud; and the necessity of righteous weights is enforced again and again (Leviticus 19:36; Proverbs 16:11, 20:23; Amos 8:5; Micah 6:11). See also Weights and Measures.
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Singer, Isidore, Ph.D, Projector and Managing Editor. Entry for 'Balance'. 1901 The Jewish Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tje/b/balance.html. 1901.
