Post by DrGadget on Dec 14, 2007 11:11:48 GMT -5
In the first Book of Kings, it describes Solomon building the Temple in Jerusalem as well as his own palace. In that palace, he made a molten “sea”. This was probably a pool or tub of some sort.
1 Kings 7:23
[23] And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.
Notice the dimensions. The diameter is 10 cubits and the circumference is 30 cubits. That can’t be right can it? Circumference is Pi times the diameter. It should be 31.415 cubits in circumference, right?
To make matters worse, Solomon was wiser and more intelligent than anyone who ever lived (except Christ of course). Of all people, how could Solomon make such a mistake? This verse is often used by non-believers to “prove” that the Bible isn’t accurate.
sol.sci.uop.edu/~jfalward/value_of_pi.html
Well maybe, and maybe not. Let’s take another look. If you go down a few verses, you will find how thick the metal was that formed the sea.
1 Kings 7:26
[26] And it was an hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths.
So it was one hand breadth thick. The footnotes in my KJV says that this is approximately 4 inches. Is it possible that Solomon measured the diameter on the outside and the circumference on the inside? Let’s see what happens when we do that.
Outer diameter – 10 cubits or 15 feet
Inner diameter – (15 feet minus 8 inches) or 14.33 feet
Inner circumference – 45.028 feet or 30.02 cubits
That’s pretty close. And what if the thickness was just a little more than 4 inches thick? After all, that 4 inches is “approximate”. We’ll work backwards to find this value.
Inner circumference – 45 feet or 30 cubits exactly
Outer diameter – still 15 feet or 10 cubits exactly
Inner diameter – (45 feet divided by Pi) or 14.32 feet
Difference between inner and outer diameters – 0.68 feet or 8.16 inches
Half of that distance would account for the thickness on both sides. That would be 4.08 inches. Maybe that’s how big a handbreadth was. So it is very possible that “approximately 4 inches” means “exactly 4.08 inches”. The visible difference between the two would be minute and near impossible to spot with the naked eye.
If this is so, then the (outer) diameter would be exactly 10 cubits, the (inner) circumference would be exactly 30 cubits, and the thickness of the walls of the sea were exactly one hand breadth. Just like it says in the Bible.
The math works after all.
1 Kings 7:23
[23] And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.
Notice the dimensions. The diameter is 10 cubits and the circumference is 30 cubits. That can’t be right can it? Circumference is Pi times the diameter. It should be 31.415 cubits in circumference, right?
To make matters worse, Solomon was wiser and more intelligent than anyone who ever lived (except Christ of course). Of all people, how could Solomon make such a mistake? This verse is often used by non-believers to “prove” that the Bible isn’t accurate.
sol.sci.uop.edu/~jfalward/value_of_pi.html
Well maybe, and maybe not. Let’s take another look. If you go down a few verses, you will find how thick the metal was that formed the sea.
1 Kings 7:26
[26] And it was an hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths.
So it was one hand breadth thick. The footnotes in my KJV says that this is approximately 4 inches. Is it possible that Solomon measured the diameter on the outside and the circumference on the inside? Let’s see what happens when we do that.
Outer diameter – 10 cubits or 15 feet
Inner diameter – (15 feet minus 8 inches) or 14.33 feet
Inner circumference – 45.028 feet or 30.02 cubits
That’s pretty close. And what if the thickness was just a little more than 4 inches thick? After all, that 4 inches is “approximate”. We’ll work backwards to find this value.
Inner circumference – 45 feet or 30 cubits exactly
Outer diameter – still 15 feet or 10 cubits exactly
Inner diameter – (45 feet divided by Pi) or 14.32 feet
Difference between inner and outer diameters – 0.68 feet or 8.16 inches
Half of that distance would account for the thickness on both sides. That would be 4.08 inches. Maybe that’s how big a handbreadth was. So it is very possible that “approximately 4 inches” means “exactly 4.08 inches”. The visible difference between the two would be minute and near impossible to spot with the naked eye.
If this is so, then the (outer) diameter would be exactly 10 cubits, the (inner) circumference would be exactly 30 cubits, and the thickness of the walls of the sea were exactly one hand breadth. Just like it says in the Bible.
The math works after all.
