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metal lead in the Bible times

Hebrew: עוֹפֶרֶת —transliteration: ophereth or ʿoferet

Latin: plumbum

Occurrences in Scripture

The Hebrew word for lead appears 9 times in Scripture (Exodus 15:10; Numbers 31:22; Job 19:24; Jeremiah 6:29; Ezekiel 22:18, 20; 27:12; Zechariah 5:8).

Uses for lead in Biblical times include

• weights for various uses, including fishing net sinkers, sounding lines (Acts 27:28), fish lines
• heavy cover for a tub (Zechariah 5:7-8)
• plumblines (plummet) (Amos 7:7-8)
• sheets of lead used as easily engraved writing tablets using an iron pen (see Mount Ebal curse tablet)
• inlayed inscriptions in rock (Job 19:24)
• fastening and binding stones or other masonry together
• sewage and aqueduct system lining / Even part of the Jordan River bed was lined with lead.
• plumbing (lead pipes) — King Herod’s palace had lead water pipes, as did many Roman communities.
• used for marking using a writing implements as graphite is today in pencils
• silver refining and smelting (Jeremiah 6:27-30; Ezekiel 22:20–22)
• also used in purifying gold (Jeremiah 6:29; 22:18-22; Malachi 3:2-3)
• cosmetics
• dyes
• pharmaceuticals
• glazes
• enamels
• lead paints / The lead ore minium has a wine red color.
• cast-lead sarcophagi and lead-sheet coffins
• serving dishes
• lead pots
• lining for copper kettles
• cooking utensils
• lining of wine pots by the Romans
• lead coins
• also, some higher value coins contained a percentage of lead
• statues
• ornaments
• lead sheets for building construction
• lead knuckles (cestus) used by some gladiators
• used by Romans as an ingredient in many recipes
• lead ingots (called “pigs”) made by pouring molten lead into clay moulds
• lead balls used as sling ammunition (“effective at a distance of between 100 and 150 meters”)
• used on weighing scales

Sources of lead in Biblical times

• Mount Hermon — lead ore (galena, a bluish gray mineral) is still found at the foot of this mountain today
• Sinai
• Syria
• Egypt
• mines of Laurion (Lavrion) south of Athens, Greece
• Aegean islands
• Asia Minor
• Tarshish (Spain) (Ezekiel 27:12) and other parts of the Iberian peninsula (Hispania)
• British Isles
• Central Europe
• the Balkans
• Anatolia

Also see

• refiner
• brass
• bronze
• copper
• gold
• iron
• silver
• steel
• tin
• zinc —Pure zinc is too reactive to be produced by ancient metalworking techniques, but is commonly present in copper deposits and so forms a copper alloy (brass or bronze) when smelted.
• Weapons of the Bible