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Topic

Lead

18 passages cited, from 3 classic reference works.

These works date from 1884–1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.

The verses

The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.

Exodus 15:10ISBE · Nave A mineral
Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
Numbers 31:22ISBE · Nave Purified by fire
Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
Job 19:24Smith · Nave Used in making inscriptions on stone
That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!
Jeremiah 6:29ISBE · Nave Purified by fire
The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
Ezekiel 22:18ISBE · Nave Purified by fire
Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.
Ezekiel 22:20ISBE · Nave Purified by fire
As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.
Ezekiel 27:12ISBE · Nave Trade in
Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs.
Zechariah 5:7ISBE · Nave Used for weighing
And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.
Zechariah 5:8ISBE · Nave Used for weighing
And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.
Job 19:14ISBE
My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me.
Job 19:23ISBE
Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!
Ezekiel 22:18–22ISBE
Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I…

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In the reference works

Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884) · 1 references

This is one of the most common of metals, found generally in veins of rocks, though seldom in a metallic state, and most commonly in combination with sulphur. It was early known to the ancients, and the allusions to it in Scripture indicate that the Hebrews were well acquainted with its uses. The rocks in the neighborhood of Sinai yielded it in large quantities, and it was found in Egypt. In (Job 19:24) the allusion is supposed to be to the practice of carving inscriptions upon stone and pouring molten lead into the cavities of the letters, to render them legible and at the same time preserve them from the action of the air.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 18 references

led (`ophereth): Lead was one of the first metals to be used in the free state, probably because it was so easily obtained from its ores. Lead was found in ancient times in Egypt and the Sinaitic peninsula. There is no lead found in Palestine proper, but in Northern Syria and Asia Minor it occurs in considerable quantities, usually associated with silver. These sources no doubt furnished an important supply in Bible times. It was also brought by the Phoenicians from Spain (Tarshish) (Eze 27:12) and the British Isles.

Lead was used, as it still is, all along the Mediterranean shores for sinkers. Pieces of Egyptian fishnets probably dating from 1200 BC are now preserved in the British Museum, with their lead sinkers still attached. Since lead was the heaviest metal known to the ancients, gold excepted, it was generally used for fish-lines and sounding lines (compare Ac 27:28), especially in the dense waters of the Mediterranean. Moses mentioned the sinking qualities of lead in the sea in his simile of the sinking of Pharaoh's hosts "as lead in the mighty waters" (Ex 15:10).

Lead was used by the ancients for binding stones together. In most of the ancient ruins of Syria the Arabs have dug holes at the seams between stones in walls and columns in order to remove the iron, bronze, or lead thus used. In the museum of the Syrian Protestant College, Beirut, there are several specimens of cast-lead sarcophagi dating from the time of Christ.

In Job 19:23,14, lead is mentioned as used in the engraving of permanent records. Two inferences might he drawn from this passage: either that the letters were cut with a chisel (pen) and then the cutting was filled with lead, or that sheets of lead were used as tablets on which to grave the record with an iron tool. Lead is frequently referred to along with iron, brass, silver and tin (Nu 31:22; Eze 22:18,20; 27:12). The use of lead for plumblines is implied in Am 7:7,8; Zec 4:10; as a weight in Zec 5:7,8. That Old Testament writers understood the use of lead for purifying gold is shown by Jer 6:29 and Eze 22:18-22 (compare Mal 3:2,3).

See METALS; REFINER.

James A. Patch

In the topical indexes

Nave's Topical Bible (1896) · 12 references, grouped by sub-topic

→ A mineral Ex 15:10
→ Purified by fire Nu 31:22; Jer 6:29; Eze 22:18,20
→ Used in making inscriptions on stone Job 19:24
→ Lead foundry Jer 6:29; Eze 22:18,20
→ Trade in Eze 27:12
→ Used for weighing Zec 5:7,8

Texts: Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884); International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915); Nave's Topical Bible (1896), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.

Lead

The verses

In the reference works

In the topical indexes

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