Vial

VIAL occurs in OT only in 1Sa 10:1 AV [Note: Authorized Version.] , and 2Ki 9:1; 2Ki 9:3 RV [Note: Revised Version.] (AV [Note: Authorized Version.] box) for an oil-flask. In NT, RV [Note: Revised Version.] has substituted ‘bowl’ for ‘vial’ throughout (Rev 5:8; Rev 15:7; Rev 16:1 ff.). The phialç was a flat vessel, resembling a saucer, specially used for pouring libations of wine upon the altar of a deity.

A. R. S. Kennedy.

vı̄´al: In modern English means “a tiny flask.” The word appears in English Versions of the Bible 1Sa 10:1 and the Revised Version (British and American) 2Ki 9:1, 2Ki 9:3 (the King James Version “box”) for פּך, pakh, a word found nowhere else and from a root meaning “to pour.” The shape and size of the pakh are quite uncertain. In 1 Esdras 2:13; and the King James Version Rev 5:8, etc., “vial” translates φιάλη, phiale. The phialē was a flat, shallow bowl (Latin, patera), shaped much like a saucer. Hence, the Revised Version’s change to “bowl” in Revelation, a change that should have been made in 1 Esdras also.

See Bowl.

Rev 5:8 (a) These golden receptacles are evidently pictures of the value our Lord places upon the worship and the prayers which ascend to GOD from the hearts of His children. None of the prayers are lost. They are kept as valuable treasures.

Rev 15:7 (a) These golden receptacles contain GOD’s wrath. The lesson we learn is that the wrath of GOD is just as precious and valuable as His mercy and grace. We give just as much honor to the judge who properly punishes the guilty as we give when the innocent is set free. His wrath is preserved as a treasure in the golden casket. This wrath is poured out in the next chapter, verses Rev 16:1-2. (See also Rev 17:1).