Gopher wood or gopherwood is a term used once in the Bible for the material used to construct Noah's ark. Genesis 6:14 states that Noah was instructed to build the Ark of gofer (גֹפֶר), commonly transliterated as gopher wood, a word not otherwise used in the Bible or the Hebrew language in general. Although some English Bibles attempt a translation, older English translations such as the King James Version (17th century) leave it untranslated. The word is unrelated to the North American animal known as the gopher.[1]
Noah's Ark by Edward Hicks, 1846. Genesis 6:14 says that Noah's Ark was constructed from gofer wood.
IdentityEdit
The Greek Septuagint (3rd–1st centuries BC) translated the phrase mentioning gopher wood as ἐκ ξύλων τετραγώνων (ek xúlōn tetragṓnōn), 'out of squared timber', translating gofer as squared. [2] Similarly, the Latin Vulgate (5th century AD) rendered it as de lignis levigatis (lævigatis, in the spelling of the Clementine Vulgate), 'of timber planks'.
The Jewish Encyclopedia states that it was most likely a translation of the Babylonian gushure iṣ erini, 'cedar beams', or the Assyrian giparu, 'reeds'.[3] The AramaicTargum Onkelos, considered by many Jews to be an authoritative translation of the Hebrew scripture, renders this word as qadros, 'cedar'. The SyriacPeshitta translates this word as arqa, 'box'.[4]
Many modern English translations favor cypress (otherwise referred to in Biblical Hebrew as berosh). This was espoused (among others) by Adam Clarke, a Methodisttheologian famous for his commentary on the Bible: Clarke cited a resemblance between the Greek word for cypress, kuparisson, and the Hebrew word gophar. Likewise, the Nova Vulgata (20th century) has it as de lignis cupressinis ('out of cypress wood').
Others, noting the visual similarity between the Hebrew lettersg (gimelג) and k (kafכ), suggest that the word may actually be kopher, the Hebrew word meaning 'pitch'; thus kopher wood would be 'pitched wood'. Recent suggestions have included a lamination process (to strengthen the Ark), or a now-lost type of tree, but there is no consensus.[5]
^Brenton, Sir Lancelot C. L. (1986) [1851]. The Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and English (Reprint ed.). Peabody, Mass., US: Hendrickson Publishers. ISBN0-913573-44-2. OCLC 1029083225.
^. Hebrew Union College. Archived from the original on 2013-10-18. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
^Taylor, Paul (2001). "What is 'Gopher Wood'?". Eden Communications. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
External linksEdit
Gopherwood and Construction of the Ark 2015-05-29 at the Wayback Machine
The Free Dictionary - "Gopherwood" (giving a definition of Cladrastis kentukea)
August 30, 2023
gopher, wood, tree, sometimes, called, gopher, wood, torreya, taxifolia, gopherwood, term, used, once, bible, material, used, construct, noah, genesis, states, that, noah, instructed, build, gofer, commonly, transliterated, gopher, wood, word, otherwise, used,. For the tree sometimes called gopher wood see Torreya taxifolia Gopher wood or gopherwood is a term used once in the Bible for the material used to construct Noah s ark Genesis 6 14 states that Noah was instructed to build the Ark of gofer ג פ ר commonly transliterated as gopher wood a word not otherwise used in the Bible or the Hebrew language in general Although some English Bibles attempt a translation older English translations such as the King James Version 17th century leave it untranslated The word is unrelated to the North American animal known as the gopher 1 Noah s Ark by Edward Hicks 1846 Genesis 6 14 says that Noah s Ark was constructed from gofer wood Identity EditThe Greek Septuagint 3rd 1st centuries BC translated the phrase mentioning gopher wood as ἐk 3ylwn tetragwnwn ek xulōn tetragṓnōn out of squared timber translating gofer as squared 2 Similarly the Latin Vulgate 5th century AD rendered it as de lignis levigatis laevigatis in the spelling of the Clementine Vulgate of timber planks The Jewish Encyclopedia states that it was most likely a translation of the Babylonian gushure iṣ erini cedar beams or the Assyrian giparu reeds 3 The Aramaic Targum Onkelos considered by many Jews to be an authoritative translation of the Hebrew scripture renders this word as qadros cedar The Syriac Peshitta translates this word as arqa box 4 Many modern English translations favor cypress otherwise referred to in Biblical Hebrew as berosh This was espoused among others by Adam Clarke a Methodist theologian famous for his commentary on the Bible Clarke cited a resemblance between the Greek word for cypress kuparisson and the Hebrew word gophar Likewise the Nova Vulgata 20th century has it as de lignis cupressinis out of cypress wood Others noting the visual similarity between the Hebrew letters g gimel ג and k kaf כ suggest that the word may actually be kopher the Hebrew word meaning pitch thus kopher wood would be pitched wood Recent suggestions have included a lamination process to strengthen the Ark or a now lost type of tree but there is no consensus 5 References Edit gopher Online Etymology Dictionary Retrieved 2015 11 03 Brenton Sir Lancelot C L 1986 1851 The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English Reprint ed Peabody Mass US Hendrickson Publishers ISBN 0 913573 44 2 OCLC 1029083225 Hirsch EG Hyvernat H 1906 Goper Wood The Jewish Encyclopedia Retrieved 2007 06 27 The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Hebrew Union College Archived from the original on 2013 10 18 Retrieved 2013 01 30 Taylor Paul 2001 What is Gopher Wood Eden Communications Retrieved 2007 06 25 External links EditGopherwood and Construction of the Ark Archived 2015 05 29 at the Wayback Machine The Free Dictionary Gopherwood giving a definition of Cladrastis kentukea Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gopher wood amp oldid 1166494283, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
