Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
A vessel of metal or earthenware used in culinary operations; a cooking-pan or frying-pan frequently referred to in the Old Testament (Lev. 2:5; 6:21; Num. 11:8; 1 Sam. 2:14, etc.). The “ash-pans” mentioned in Ex. 27:3 were made of copper, and were used in connection with the altar of burnt-offering. , “flat plate ” or “slice”) was probably a mere plate of iron used for baking. The “fire-pans” of Ex. 27:3 were fire-shovels used for taking up coals. The same Hebrew word is rendered “snuff-dishes” (25:38; 37:23) and “censers” (Lev. 10:1; 16:12; Num. 4:14, etc.).
These were probably simply metal vessels employed for carrying burning embers from the brazen altar to the altar of incense. The “frying-pan” mentioned in Lev. 2:7; 7:9 was a pot for boiling.
Smith's Bible Dictionary (1863)
Of the six words so rendered in the Authorized Version, two seem to imply a shallow pan or plate, such as is used by the Bedouine and Syrians for baking or dressing rapidly their cakes of meal, such as were used in legal oblations; the others, a deeper vessel or caldron for boiling meat, placed during the process on three stones.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
PAN is, in our version, the rendering of six different Hebrew words, of which two seem to have denoted flat plates of metal, such as are still used in the East for baking cakes of meal, while the others seem to have denoted deeper vessels, used for boiling purposes. Lev 2:6; Ex 6:21.