In 2 Kings 21:13, we encounter our first measuring tools:
“And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.”
The Lord uses three symbolic measuring tools—the line, the plummet, and the compass. The line is the Hebrew word qav, defined as “a cord, line, or measuring line.” The related Hebrew word qavah means “to wait,” but it also means “to bind together, perhaps by twisting.” Qavah relates to covenant making, as we are bound to the Savior by covenant. D&C 43:9 states, “ye shall bind yourselves to act in all holiness before me.”
Measuring tools are often associated with the Creation or premortal divine council imagery, such as in Job 38. The Lord asks, “Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?” (Isaiah 40:12). He asks Job, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?” (Job 38:17).
Measuring tools are associated with the temple for two reasons. First, they appear in the scriptures as part of the Creation process. Second, they are used to get exact measurements of temple-related items. Exact measurements appear in the Old Testament only for temple-related items, such as the Ark of the Covenant, the tabernacle, temple, and Noah’s Ark, which is a floating temple.
A heavenly messenger shows Ezekiel the form and size of the temple and its courts.
“And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.” (Ezekiel 40:3)
These measurements continue for nine chapters to the end of the Book of Ezekiel.
The concept of a straight line is also a straight course along the covenant path. Alma taught, “For I perceive that ye are in the paths of righteousness; I perceive that ye are in the path which leads to the kingdom of God; yea, I perceive that ye are making his paths straight. I perceive that it has been made known unto you, by the testimony of his word, that he cannot walk in crooked paths; neither doth he vary from that which he hath said; neither hath he a shadow of turning from the right to the left, or from that which is right to that which is wrong; therefore, his course is one eternal round” (Alma 7:19-20). Later, Alma taught that Lehi’s family sometimes “forgot to exercise their faith” while traveling in the wilderness, and therefore, they “did not travel a direct course.” He compared that to the “words of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss” (Alma 37:41-44).
The straight line can also symbolize “erectness” or “uprightness” before God. I’m impressed by how many characters in the Book of Mormon have “large statures,” but this is also “the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).
The plummet is a leveling tool. In this case in 2 Kings, the house of Ahab will be leveled to the ground. The plummet is an Egyptian plumb bob, which is a weight, usually with a pointed tip on the bottom, suspended from a string and used as a vertical direction as a reference line, or plumb line. It was the forerunner to the spirit level. The frame formed a 90-degree angle. Since the plumb bob was used for precise measurement, it symbolizes exactness and integrity.
We will examine measuring tools further in Psalms and Isaiah, where they are tied to specific godly traits.
See the short video below.