Re: Pi and the Bible

On May 11, 8:21 pm, snex <x...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On May 11, 9:34 pm, Scooter the Mighty <Greyg...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:





On May 11, 7:07 pm, Zoe <muz...@xxxxxxx> wrote:

I was reading the Bible recently and came across the dimensions given
for the cast-metal "sea" that was placed in the courtyard of Solomon's
temple. Circular in shape, it measured 10 cubits in diameter and 30
cubits in circumference.....say what? This rang a bell. Immediately,
Talk Origins came to mind...ding, ding.

I remember reading on this newsgroup that there is a problem with
those measurements, and therefore, the Bible is unscientific. Pi,
after all, is 3.14159 not 3.

So tucking my most recent mathematical feather (5/0) into my thinking
cap, I tried to figure this one out. The vast basin measured 10
cubits from rim to rim. It was also a handbreadth in thickness. So
now the question is, was the diameter measured from outer rim to outer
rim or from inner rim to inner rim?

The cubit (meaning elbow or forearm) was an ancient unit of measure
that represented the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle
finger. Using 18 inches arbitrarily as the average length of a man's
forearm, we have a circumference of 30 x 18" = 540 inches. If the rim
was a handbreadth thick, and the average width of a man's hand back
then was 4 inches, then the diameter from outer rim to outer rim would
be 10 x 18 = 180 inches, or from inner rim to inner rim, it would be
172 inches (subtract 4 inches from both sides)

Since we don't know which circumference was used, whether the
outer-rim circumference or the inner-rim circumference, then I shall
hazard a guess that the 540-inch circumference refers to the outer-rim
circle and the 172-inch diameter refers to the inner-rim to inner-rim
measurement.

Using those dimensions, I get 540/172 = 3.1395348 which, when rounded
up, gives a Pi of 3.14.

I've always thought this criticism is a bit silly. The circumfirence
of a circle 10 whatevers across is about 30 whatevers. The figure is
correct to one significant digit, the bible isn't trying to provide a
blueprint.

one significant digit is quite a large mistake in terms of cubits.
zoe's answer is probably correct, with the possibility that it may
have not even been a circle anyway.

this criticism really only applies to ultra-literalists, especially
KJV ones.

I think that the point of the passage was to give a mental picture of
how big the thing was, not a blueprint. It was about 10 cubits across
and 30 around. Why would they need to be more accurate?


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Pi and the Bible
    ... it measured 10 cubits in diameter and 30 ... those measurements, and therefore, the Bible is unscientific. ... cubits from rim to rim. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Pi and the Bible
    ... it measured 10 cubits in diameter and 30 ... those measurements, and therefore, the Bible is unscientific. ... cubits from rim to rim. ... but it bears repeating: The four-legged insect. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Pi and the Bible
    ... it measured 10 cubits in diameter and 30 ... those measurements, and therefore, the Bible is unscientific. ... cubits from rim to rim. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Pi and the Bible
    ... it measured 10 cubits in diameter and 30 ... those measurements, and therefore, the Bible is unscientific. ... cubits from rim to rim. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Pi and the Bible
    ... it measured 10 cubits in diameter and 30 ... those measurements, and therefore, the Bible is unscientific. ... cubits from rim to rim. ...
    (talk.origins)