Bible Dictionary
BRICK-KILN
A brick mould or brickmaking work, associated with forced labor. The term appears in accounts of construction and slavery and is better understood as referring to a brick mould or brickwork than to a kiln.
Definition
A brick-kiln is better understood in the supplied material as a brickmould or brickwork. The Hebrew term is still used in Syria for a brickmould. The expression may also refer to pavement or brick construction.
Biblical Usage
The term appears in Jeremiah 43:9 and 2 Samuel 12:31. The latter passage becomes clearer when understood as labor at the brickmould rather than merely as work at a kiln.
Historical Background
Being assigned to the brickmould was regarded as the task of slaves. The account connects this labor with the forced toil imposed on the ancestors of later taskmasters.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>brik'-kil, -kiln (malben): The Hebrew word is better translated by "brickmould." In Syria the brickmould is still called milben. In Jer 43:9 the American Standard Revised Version rendering is "brickwork" and the American Revised Version, margin "pavement." 2Sa 12:31 becomes much clearer if the American Revised Version, margin is incorporated. Being put to work at the brickmould was considered the task of those taken as slaves. The ancestors of the new taskmasters had themselves been put to similar toil.</p>