kur is a furnace, used for melting and testing metals and as an image for Egypt and affliction.

The noun denotes a furnace in contexts of melting or testing metals and in figurative descriptions of Egypt as an “iron furnace” and affliction as a furnace.

1. Furnace for melting, testing, and figurative distress · dominant

   In Proverbs 17:3 and Proverbs 27:21, the singular absolute form occurs in clauses that place silver and gold in a furnace in connection with testing. In Ezekiel 22:20 and Ezekiel 22:22, the APB renders a furnace as the setting where metals are gathered and melted; Deuteronomy 4:20 and Isaiah 48:10 use construct forms in the expressions “iron furnace” and “furnace of affliction.”

   Proverbs 17:3Proverbs 27:21Ezekiel 22:20Ezekiel 22:22Deuteronomy 4:20Isaiah 48:10

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB consistently presents the term with “furnace,” including “iron furnace” in Deuteronomy 4:20 and “furnace of affliction” in Isaiah 48:10. These English phrases show the verse-level presentation rather than a precise token-by-token rendering.