pich : The translation of the noun לּפר , kōpher , and the verb כּפר , kāphar , in Genesis 6:14 and of the noun זפת , zepheth , in Exodus 2:3; Isaiah 34:9 . In Genesis 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 ἄσφαλτος , ásphaltos , "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 Isaiah 34:9-15 - the streams and land of Edom are to become burning bitumen, like the sites of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Exodus 2:3 zepheth is combined with ḥēmār , which also means bitumen (Genesis 14:10; see SLIME ), and the distinction between the words (different consistencies of the same substance?) is not clear.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) was edited by James Orr, John Nuelsen, Edgar Mullins, Morris Evans, and Melvin Grove Kyle and was published complete in 1939. This web site includes the complete text.
WikipediaThe ISBE is a classic Bible reference compiled from nearly 10,000 entries written by over 200 different Bible scholars and teachers. In addition to the encyclopedia articles, all of the major words of the Bible are represented and defined.
The historical, cultural, and linguistic information in the ISBE can be of great value in Bible study and research.
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