Pitch

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(Gen 6:14), asphalt or bitumen in its soft state, called “slime” (Gen 11:3; 14:10; Exod 2:3), found in pits near the Dead Sea (q.v.). It was used for various purposes, as the coating of the outside of vessels and in building. Allusion is made in Isa 34:9 to its inflammable character.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

pich: The translation of the noun kopher, and the verb kaphar, in Gen 6:14 and of the noun zepheth, in Exod 2:3; Isa 34:9. In Gen 6:14 the words are the ordinary forms for "covering," "cover," so that the translation "pitch" is largely guesswork, aided by the Septuagint, which reads asphaltos, "bitumen," here, and by the fact that pitch is a usual "covering" for vessels. The meaning of zepheth, however, is fixed by the obvious Dead Sea imagery of Isa 34:9-15--the streams and land of Edom are to become burning bitumen, like the sites of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Exod 2:3 zepheth is combined with chemar, which also means bitumen (Gen 14:10; see SLIME), and the distinction between the words (different consistencies of the same substance?) is not clear.

Burton Scott Easton

Kilde: Easton's Bible Dictionary (M.G. Easton, 1897) og International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (red. James Orr, 1915/1939), public domain. Oversat til dansk med AI og endnu ikke gennemlæst (helt eller delvis). Koblinger til personer og steder: Theographic Bible Metadata (CC BY-SA 4.0).