Gopher wood
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Gopher wood or gopherwood is a term used once in the Bible, for the substance whose identity is unknown from which the ark was built.
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[edit] Question over identity
In Genesis 6:14, God said to Noah, "Make yourself an ark of gopher wood . . . " (Genesis 6:14). The meaning of the Hebrew word gopher in this context is unknown, so the King James Version and most other translations leave it simply as gopher and added the word wood (assuming it was a type of wood).
[edit] Type-of-wood theory
Several guesses as to the nature of gopher wood have been made, the most common of which is the cypress. Adam Clarke, a Methodist theologian famous for his commentary on the Bible, cited the Greek word for cypress, kuparisson, and the resemblance of this word's base, kupar, to the Hebrew word gophar.
Other suggestions as to the identity of the wood include pine, cedar, fir, ebony, wicker, juniper, acacia, boxwood, slimed bulrushes and resinous wood.
Some dictionaries mention gopherwood as a deciduous tree with white flowers, specifically Cladrastis kentuckea, or American yellowwood; this type of gopherwood has no known relation to the material of Noah's Ark.
Gopher might not be a type of wood at all and may be a type of reed, as reed boats are as ancient, if not more ancient than wooden boats.
[edit] Process theory
Some Biblical scholars have suggested that the word gopher may refer to a process performed on the wood during the construction of the Ark. Many of these have suggested that it may refer to a process of lamination of the wood, believed to be necessary when the large size of the Ark is considered.
[edit] Copying error
Others suggest mere scribal error, noting the physical similarity between the Hebrew letters g and k, that the word may actually be kopher. In Hebrew, kopher means pitch; thus kopher wood would be pitched wood. In full, Genesis 6:14 would then read: "Make yourself an ark of pitched [wood], put various compartments in it, and cover it inside and outside with pitch." Whether this is redundant, or refers to the wood being pitched both before and after construction is an open question.
[edit] Fictional references
- In the Pendragon Cycle by Stephen R. Lawhead, gopherwood, along with orichalcum and samite, other unidentified ancient materials, is mentioned frequently in the first volume, much of which takes place in Atlantis.
[edit] External links
- What is "Gopher Wood?"
- Gopherwood and Construction of the Ark
- The Free Dictionary - Gopherwood (giving a definition of cladrastis kentuckea)
- Jewish Encyclopedia (explaining that gopher may be reeds)
