KING JAMES BIBLE DICTIONARY

POT'TER, noun [form pot.] One whose occupation is to make earthen vessels.

POT'TERN-ORE, noun A species of ore, which, from its aptness to vitrify like the glazing of potter's ware, the miners call by this name.

The name given to the piece of ground which was afterwards bought with the money that had been given to Judas. It was called the "field of blood" (Matthew 27:7-10). Tradition places it in the valley of Hinnom. (See ACELDAMA.)

a piece of ground which, according to the statement of St. Matthew, (Matthew 27:7) was purchased by the Priests with the thirty pieces of silver rejected by Judas, and converted into a burial-place for Jews not belonging to the city. [ACELDAMA]

The art of, was early practised among all nations. Various materials seem to have been employed by the potter. Earthenware is mentioned in connection with the history of Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18), of Abraham (18:4-8), of Rebekah (27:14), of Rachel (29:2, 3, 8, 10). The potter's wheel is mentioned by Jeremiah (18:3). See also 1 Chronicles 4:23; Psalms 2:9; Isaiah 45:9; 64:8; Jeremiah 19:1; Lamentations 4:2; Zechariah 11:13; Romans 9:21.

Clay prepared for, by treading
Isaiah 41:25

Vessels made of
Jeremiah 18:3-4

Place for manufacture of, outside the wall of Jerusalem, bought as a burial ground for the poor
Matthew 27:7-10

Figurative:

General references
Isaiah 64:8; Romans 9:21

Of weakness, in the idol in Nebuchadnezzar's vision
Daniel 2:41

The art of pottery is one of the most common and most ancient of all manufactures. It is abundantly evident, both that the Hebrews used earthenware vessels in the wilderness and that the potter's trade was afterward carried on in Palestine. They had themselves been concerned in the potter's trade in Egypt, (Psalms 81:6) and the wall-paintings minutely illustrate the Egyptian process. The clay, when dug, was trodden by men's feet so as to form a paste, (Isaiah 41:25) Wisd. 15.7; then placed by the potter on the wheel beside which he sat, and shaped by him with his hands. How early the wheel came into use in Palestine is not known, but it seems likely that it was adopted from Egypt. (Isaiah 45:9; Jeremiah 15:3) The vessel was then smoothed and coated with a glaze, and finally burnt in a furnace. There was at Jerusalem a royal establishment of potters, (1 Chronicles 4:23) from whose employment, and from the fragments cast away in the process, the Potter's Field perhaps received its name. (Isaiah 30:11)

POT'TERY, noun The vessels or ware made by potters; earthen ware, glazed and baked.

1. The place where earthen vessels are manufactured.