Plumbline

The plumbline is composed of a small inverted lead cone which is fastened by a cord to a cylindrical piece of wood made of the same diameter. The mason puts the wood to the newly set stone, and the suspended lead should barely touch the wall. To be a permanent one, every wall must stand the test of the plumbline. The prophet Amos compared the LORD's test of Israel to the mason's use of a plumbline. "Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel" (Amos 7:8). The prophet Ezekiel describes a man making use of a measuring reed (Ezekiel 40:3). This was used by a mason in laying the foundation and in the construction of the walls. It is a straight cane around twenty feet long, and is used to measure wall spaces, especially between windows and doors. Sometimes a shorter reed is also used. The prophets said of the LORD, "I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria" (II Kings 21:13). Evidently this was a leveling line which was strung from stones at each end of the wall being built. It was used in conjunction with the plumbline. [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]

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