Bible Dictionary
Bricks
Bricks were widely used in ancient building, especially sun-dried bricks made from mud and straw. The Israelites made them under compulsion in Egypt, while the builders of Babel used fired bricks joined with bitumen.
Definition
Bricks were building blocks usually made by molding mud, often mixed with straw, and drying it in the sun. They could also be burned in kilns. Ancient bricks found at Babylon and Nineveh were about a foot square and four inches thick.
Biblical Usage
Brickmaking formed a chief part of the Israelites’ forced labor in Egypt. The builders of the tower of Babel used burnt bricks cemented with bitumen.
Historical Background
Sun-dried bricks were common, though kilns were also known. Babylonian bricks used in Babel differed from the usual sun-dried bricks by being burned and joined with bitumen.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
The making of, formed the chief labour of the Israelites in Egypt (Ex. 1:13, 14). Those found among the ruins of Babylon and Nineveh are about a foot square and four inches thick. They were usually dried in the sun, though also sometimes in kilns (2 Sam. 12:31; Jer. 43:9; Nah. 3:14). (See NEBUCHADNEZZAR.) The bricks used in the tower of Babel were burnt bricks, cemented in the building by bitumen (Gen. 11:3).