(מִרְחֶשֶׁת, marche sheth, prop. a boil er), a pot for boiling meat, etc. (Leam. 2:7; 6:9). (See POT). Jarchi says it was a deep vessel, so that the oil could not become ignited upon the fire. The Rabbins distinguish it from the מִחֲבִת, machabath', iron "pan," flat plate, or slice (Leviticus 2:5; Ezekiel 4:3), asmd say that the former was concave and deep, though both were used for the same purpose. The Bedouins, and some other Arab tribes, use a shallow earthen vessel, somewhat resembling a frying-pan, and which is employed both for frying and baking one sort of bread. SEE BAKE. There is also used in Western Asia some modification of this pan, resembling the Eastern oven, which Jerome describes as a round vessel of copper, blackened on the outside by the surrounding fire which heats it. This baking-pan is also common enough in England and elsewhere, where the villagers bake large loaves of bread under inverted round iron pots, with embers and slow burning fuel heaped upon them. Something like a deep concave pan may be seen in the paintings of the tombs of Egypt, in their representations of the various processes of cookery, (See COOK), which no doubt bears a resemblance to the one used by the Hebrews on this occasion. (See PAN).
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More