CRUSE. A small jar for water, oil, etc.

1. (בַּקְבֻּק, H1318, 1 Kings 14:3, KJV “cruse,” RSV “jar”; alternately Jeremiah 19:1, 10, KJV “bottle,” RSV “flask”). A water decanter with narrow neck. Such a jar filled with honey would make only a trifling gift from a king (1 Kings 14:3).

2. (צְלֹחִית, H7504, 2 Kings 2:20, KJV “cruse,” RSV “bowl”). An open shallow bowl to hold salt, for salt would cake up in a jar.

3. (צַפַּ֫חַת, H7608, 1 Sam 26:11, 12, 16, KJV “cruse,” RSV “jar”; 1 Kings 17:12, 14, 16 KJV, RSV “cruse,” Jerusalem Bible “jug”; 1 Kings 19:6, KJV “cruse,” RSV “jar”). The two-handled traveler’s flask or canteen, ill-suited to contain olive oil, but perhaps necessary in the case of the poverty-stricken widow (1 Kings 17:12). See Potter.