Gopher wood
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Gopher wood or gopherwood is a term used once in the Bible, for a type of wood whose identity is unknown.
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 wood.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.
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.Error of translation
Others suggest mere scribal error (common throughout biblical translations), 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." This would seem redundant, but such redundant language is not unknown in Biblical texts.
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.
External links
- [What is "Gopher Wood?"]
- [Gopherwood and Construction of the Ark]
- [The Free Dictionary - Gopherwood] (giving a definition of cladrastis kentuckea)
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