Page 202 - Coincidences in the Bible and in Biblical Hebrew
P. 202

CHAPTER 13           METALS AND OTHER SUBSTANCES








                                   CHAPTER 13



                         Metals and Other Substances





          13. 1 Introduction

          An analysis similar to that conducted with regard to colors (chapters 10 and 12)
          has been applied to Hebrew names of metals and other substances.
             Like in the earlier endeavor (chapter 12), basic sets were established of  metals
          and other substances that appear in the Bible with undisputable meanings. For a
          few cases where meanings are debatable, a thorough explanation for the  selection
          of the final name (taken from the Bible) is given. A modern-day general physical

          property, characteristic to any material, is defined, with its value calculated for each

          material in the samples. The relationships between values of the selected physical
          property and the corresponding numerical values of the Hebrew names (metal
          numeric value, MNV , and material numeric value, MaNV ) are then explored via
          rigorous statistical analysis.
             A description of the considerations involved in preparing the samples and the

          final samples selected is given in section 13.2, for metals, and in section 13.3, for
          other materials. Descriptions of the statistical analyses and their results are given
          in section 13.4, for metals, and in section 13.5, for other substances.


          13.2  Selecting and Preparing the Sample: Metals

          13.2.1  Selecting the Sample (Metals)


          A basic set of metals that appear in the Bible is defined. This set includes the three

          metals mentioned in the construction of the tabernacle (Exod. 35:32)—namely



          gold , silver, and copper (or brass ), and, additionally, tin (or stannum ), iron, and

          lead . The prophet Ezekiel refers to all these metals (excluding gold) in one verse:
          “As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of
                                           181
                                           181
   197   198   199   200   201   202   203   204   205   206   207