roll, scroll

the common form of ancient books

The Hebrew word rendered “roll” or “volume” is meghillah, found in Ezra 6:2; Psalm 40:7; Jeremiah 36:2, 6, 23, 28-29; Ezek. 2:9; 3:1-3; Zechariah 5:1-2. “Rolls” (Chaldee plural of sephar, corresponding to Hebrew sepher) in Ezra 6:1 is rendered in the Revised King James Version “archives.” In the New Testament the word “volume” (Hebrews 10:7; Revised King James Version, “roll”) occurs as the rendering of the Greek kephalis, meaning the head or top of the stick or cylinder on which the manuscript was rolled, and hence the manuscript itself.

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