158. Ranges

Leviticus 11:35  •  1 min. read  •  grade level: 8
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Some think that instead of “ranges for pots,” we should read “pots with lids.” Others refer the words to some arrangement by which two or more cooking vessels could be used at once, thus economizing fuel. Rauwolff (cited by Harmer, Obs., 1, 465) describes an apparatus he saw among the Arabs which may have been similar to the “ranges” spoken of here. A hole was dug in the ground about a foot and a half deep, into which the earthen pipkins were put filled with meat and with covers on. Stones were piled around the pots on three sides of the little pit, and on the fourth side the Arabs threw the fuel. In a short time the heat was intense, and the meat cooked. The expression “broken down,” in the text, may refer to the taking apart of the rude structure.