Like A Bottle in the Smoke

A leather bag made of animal skin is the most common kind of bottle in Biblical times. A smaller bottle kept the shape of the animal with the bone removed. The larger ones were hides sewn together.

A liquid was usually carried in a ‘bottle’ with the hair left on, but tanning had to be completed before a bottle could serve to carry wine. A bottle hung in the smoke to dry, it shriveled—thus the phrase found in Psalms 119:83 “I am become like a bottle in the smoke.”