Bible Dictionary
Barrel
A barrel in the King James Version was a large earthenware jar used to store flour or carry water. In other passages the same kind of vessel is more accurately called a pitcher.
Definition
A barrel in the King James Version refers to a large earthenware jar or pitcher, not a modern wooden barrel. Such a vessel could hold flour or grain and could also be used to carry water.
Biblical Usage
The vessel appears in the account of the flour that did not fail and in the account of water being carried or poured. The same underlying term is elsewhere more suitably translated “pitcher.”
Historical Background
Large earthenware jars were customary in the East for carrying water from a spring or well and for storing grain and other goods. This usage continued in the region described by the supplied material.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
A vessel used for keeping flour (1 Kings 17:12, 14, 16). The same word (cad) so rendered is also translated “pitcher,” a vessel for carrying water (Gen. 24:14; Judg. 7:16).
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>bar'-el: The word "barrel" in the King James Version (see 1Ki 17:12,14,16; 18:33: "The barrel of meal," "fill four barrels with water," etc.) stands for the large earthenware jar (so the American Standard Revised Version) used in the East for carrying water from the spring or well, and for storing grain, etc., according to a custom that still persists. It is elsewhere (EV) more fitly rendered "pitcher."</p><p>See HOUSE; PITCHER, etc.</p>