2 Chronicles 4:2,"Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about."
Since the molten sea was round with a diameter of ten cubits and a circumference of thirty cubits, we know that the biblical value of pi is 3. (The actual value is approximately 3.14159.)
2006-11-21 03:36:37 · 29 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
it DOES make a difference.
2006-11-21 03:36:53 · update #1
God makes no mistakes, mathematical or otherwise. The Scriptures do not contain error. By the way, Solomon built this sea in 1000 B.C., long before the Greeks rediscovered Pi (p). We may not understand some things at first glance, but the problem is with us, not with the Bible.
Ancient standards of measure vary widely, a cubit is generally taken to be about 18 inches, although there are different types of cubits ("common" and "royal", varying from 17 to 22 inches). A handbreadth is taken to be about 3 inches, sometimes being defined as one-sixth of a cubit.
The Bible and the Value of "PI"
Does the Bible contain a mathematical error? Not at all!
Biblical Value of Pi
1.0471698, which multiplied by 3 is pi. "1047" in the Old Testament lexicon can be transliterated as "pi." Hence, "house of pi." Indeed, truth is stranger than fiction.
Solomon and the Molten Sea
In describing the temple that King Solomon built for the King of Kings, several articles of furniture are described. One of these pieces is “a molten sea.” II Chronicles 4:2 reads thus, “Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.” A supposed discrepancy has arisen from this passage concerning the mathematical accuracy of the Bible. The value of π (pi) is known to be equal to the circumference of a circle divided by its diameter,
The aforementioned scripture states that the molten sea was “ten cubits from brim to brim” and “a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about;” thus, its diameter was 10 cubits, and its circumference 30 cubits. Dividing this circumference of 30 by a diameter of 10 gives a value of exactly 3. This is where the questions arise. It is commonly known that the value of π is approximately 3.14159265358979. In fact, this value has been proven so exactly, that its value is known to hundreds of thousands of digits.
Why then does the Bible appear to give the value of π to be 3? A diameter of 10 cubits should yield a circle having a circumference of more that 31.4 cubits--not 30 cubits. Is the Bible just rounding things off? Are the Biblical values just approximate and not really exact? If we see here that the scripture is not exact, what other passages also contain words that cannot be received with complete accuracy?
1 Kings 7:26 It [the above mentioned metal pool] was a handbreadth in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths.
If the diameter of this bowl was 10 cubits, then the circumference should have been 31.415926 cubits, and not just 30 cubits! Any math student will tell you that the circumference of a circle is found by taking the diameter times Pi (3.14159265358979...), is commonly approximated by 22/7 if great accuracy is not needed. Is this an error? Think again. The answer is so simple!
The diameter of 10 cubits is from outer rim to outer rim, the way anyone would measure a circular object. The circumference of 30 cubits, however, was of the inner circle, after subtracting the thickness of the brass (two handbreadths—one for each side) from which the bowl was made. This would be the number needed to calculate the volume of water.
line of thirty cubits did compass it round about
calculation of pi =
(30 x 18) / [(10 x 18) - (2 x 4.05)] = 540 / (180 - 8.10) = 3.1413613 = 3.1414
Let's compare our calculated value of 3.1414 to the real value of "pi", which is 3.1415927. Actually, the parameters given in 1 Kings 7:23-26 gives a direct value for "pi" that is within 2 parts in 10,000, which is fairly accurate. Since the outside diameter of the sea is 10 cubits, what is the inside diameter?
inside diameter = circumference / pi = 30 / 3.1415927 = 9.5493 cubits
And, since the inside circumference is 30 cubits, what is the outside circumference?
outside circumference = diameter x pi = 10 x 3.1415927 = 31.4159 cubits.
2006-11-21 03:42:21 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Thats strange... my Bible says "Also he made a molten sea of aproximately ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of roughly thirty cubits did compass it round about, thusly givith thy a value of Pi 3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510."
2006-11-21 03:46:47 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree that the bible is full of bad science, contradictions, and just some really off the wall stuff. However, the pi thing is one of those I don't pick on. To successfully describe this molten sea, the writer would have to understand decimals. It would have been easier for him to round off. If I was describing something like this, I would have probably have done the same. There are bigger science problems in the bible to argue from.
Check this out, it is interesting.
http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/
2006-11-21 03:43:23 · answer #3 · answered by A.Mercer 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
How about ...
"Since the bible is inerrant, it's obvious that straight lines and curved lines were measured slightly differently; thus allowing for the pi and their calculation to be exactly the same.
The bible counting system is, like God himself, a mystery. That's why King Jehoiachin is supposed to have reigned 10 years according to Chronicles and 18 according to Kings. Again, since the bible must be correct, we can only conclude that 10=18."
2006-11-21 03:55:30 · answer #4 · answered by JAT 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All the believer has to do is say they were "round figures" - no pun intended. The verse means to give a rough description to convey relative magnitude, not exact architectural blueprints. If you want to prove the errancy of the Bible, you need to come up with a better one than this. And there are plenty to choose from.
2006-11-21 03:41:26 · answer #5 · answered by jason_king_666 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
What is the measurement of a cubit to six decimal places? What is the thickness of the wall of the bowl?
Your question is indeed foolish.
2006-11-21 03:45:17 · answer #6 · answered by Bad Cosmo 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Right, if you bash a three to four thousand year old document for being .14159 off, you are quite picky. Besides, did they even have fractions back then? After all they did not "draw" the numbers, they wrote them out.... "Ten" instead of "10", etc. Except it was in Hebrew. And have you ever heard of rounding? It spares people headaches, you should try it.
2006-11-21 03:41:52 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
... WOW, (in a really ridiculously deep voice (like the Grinch)) can any one remember where the bible talks about a flying role?
What i was saying WOW about, you must be a very dedicated person to figure that out all on your own, we follow the bible for spiritual advice not math class.
2006-11-21 03:45:12 · answer #8 · answered by nik 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You say it makes a difference, how so? If your point is to prove the Bible is wrong that won't work, because more and more archaeological evidence is apparing to prove that the Bible is right.
They didn't have the decimal system back then, so they wouldn't have known that pi equals 3.14 whatever.
2006-11-21 03:43:21 · answer #9 · answered by GLSigma3 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
To how many decimal places should the Bible have given each length then?
2006-11-21 03:41:30 · answer #10 · answered by epbr123 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋