hinge Summary and Overview

(Heb. tsir), that on which a door revolves. "Doors in the East turn rather on pivots than on what we term hinges. In Syria, and especially in the Hauran, there are many ancient doors, consisting of stone slabs with pivots carved out of the same piece inserted in sockets above and below, and fixed during the building of the house" (Prov. 26:14).

Both ancient Egyptian and modern Oriental doors were and are hung by means of pivots turning in sockets on both the upper and lower sides. #1Ki 7:50| In Syria, and especially the Hauran, there are many ancient doors consisting of stone slabs with pivots carved out of the same piece, inserted in sockets above and below, and fixed during the building of the house. The allusion in #Pr 26:14| is thus clearly explained.

In the Hauran the door was often a stone slab with a stone pivot above and below of the same piece, fitting into corresponding sockets. (Proverbs 26:14). As the door moves round the same center, and cannot be separated from it, it moves indeed, but not forward; so the slothful man lies now on this side now on that, but will not be torn from his bed.