vi'-al: In modern English means "a tiny flask." The word appears in English Versions of the Bible1Sa 10:1and the Revised Version (British and American)2Ki 9:1,3(the King James Version "box") for pakh, a word found nowhere else and from a root meaning "to pour." The shape and size of the pakh are quite uncertain. In 1 Esdras 2:13; and the King James VersionRe 5:8, etc., "vial" translates phiale. The phiale was a flat, shallow bowl (Latin, patera), shaped much like a saucer. Hence, the Revised Version's change to "bowl" in Revelation, a change that should have been made in 1 Esdras also.
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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, James Orr, General Editor, 1844–1913 edition.