Many ancient cultures got a lot closer than that when determining the ration between the radius of a circle and its other measurements.
2007-05-29 13:42:45 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Well... if you really want to split hairs...
2007-05-29 13:45:47 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I actually remember a question based on this when I was studying for my O-level maths. (For younger readers, O-levels were the exams you did before GCSEs were invented.) If you assume outer diameter = 10 cubits and inner circumference = 30 cubits, then you can calculate a wall thickness. The inner diameter is then (30 / pi) cubits = 9.549 cubits; so giving a wall thickness of 0.225 cubits, or (using 1 cubit = 50cm.) 11.3cm. in modern measurements. That's probably close enough to a hand's breadth, but it's still a pretty convoluted way of getting it accurate. And most people would find inner diameter and outer circumference easier to measure. What it does say to me is that while the Bible authors might have had some vague awareness of pi, they almost certainly had not twigged to its universality; otherwise they would never have needed to quote both the diameter and the circumference, since any interested reader could have determined one from the other.
2016-05-21 06:58:58 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check your sources because in the description for the bronze laver for Soloman's Temple, when the dimensions are calculated Pi is found to the fourth spot past the decimal point.
2007-05-29 13:52:54 · answer #3 · answered by Mike F 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well, obviously, the bible authors were either disinterested in accuracy or they just didn't know - I suspect the later.
It's only a personal opinion, of course, but I have never been very impressed by the academic scholarship of the bible authors. They tend to be overly attracted by romantics and neglectful of facts.
[][][] r u randy? [][][]
.
2007-05-29 13:52:47 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
2 Chronicles 4:2 is the reference.
There is no problem here.
If the INSIDE circumference is 30 cubits, the real question is what is the OUTSIDE circumference? It must have been 31.4159265358979 cubits
2007-05-29 14:07:27 · answer #5 · answered by Brian 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Rounding.
2007-05-29 13:46:14 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Simple: the bible doesn't say pi is 3
2007-05-29 13:45:45 · answer #7 · answered by That one guy 5 · 5⤊ 1⤋
What translation are you using? Bob's Amalgamated Translation says pi is immaculate, and leaves it at that.
I suspect you are trying to start something.
2007-05-29 13:48:01 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
It doesn't. Who told you that crap? Some ignorant, Christofacist, right-wing, Ted Haggard, Jerry Fallwell, fundamentalist I'll bet.
2007-05-29 13:48:31 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
either it was rounding, or the person who wrote that down did not know a more exact measure.
2007-05-29 13:46:24 · answer #10 · answered by Gamla Joe 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Funny. I learned about rounding off numbers in elementary school. I guess you missed that class.
2007-05-29 15:11:12 · answer #11 · answered by Steve Amato 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋