Cage

A rendering for

The root of the Hebrew word being uncertain, the exact equivalent can not be definitely ascertained. In the El-Amarna tablets the word is found in the form "kulibi," meaning "bird-net," an instrument to trap birds. This seems to fit in with Jeremiah's simile, "The houses are filled with dishonesty and violently acquired goods" (A. V., "deceit"). In Ecclus. (Sirach) 11:30 the heart of a vain man is likened to a decoy partridge in a "cage" (κάρταλλος). This word is the Arabic "ḳirṭal" (hamper); but the context shows that "cage" here stands for not merely a crate, but for a cage contrived to capture birds, in which the decoy partridge is "vain" in so far as it displays a mere semblance to the absent reality. Ezekiel 19:9, R. V., in accordance with this idea of a contrivance to trap, renders the Hebrew