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The Molten Sea and the Value of Pi
Is 
"in" Scripture?
Can Pi be accurately found in the Biblical texts describing the dimensions of the Molten Sea using: Numerics, Gematria, or Equidistant Letter Sequencing (ELS)? To what degree of accuracy? To how many decimal places?
This site deals with my attempts to read the value of p into the Scripture texts that describe the Molten Sea. It's purpose
is to show how easily this can be done; which implies that the fantastic claims made by
some for: ELS, Gematria and Numerics are ungrounded. The ease by which the value of p can be "found" indicates the fact that these methods do
not reveal hidden "codes" or other secrets. It is simply a matter of reading
something into the Biblical text, not out of it.
In confining my examples to that of locating a more accurate
value for p in the verses that describe the Molten Sea, I draw
attention to the fact that it is quite easy to "find" whatever you are looking
for. Also, these examples do not add to or subtract from the Biblical message. They merely
"give" a more accurate value for p. Since p is an irrational number, all values that represent it are
approximations; some being more accurate than others. Among other things, I wanted to use
an example that does not violate or tamper with the Word of God.
The Biblical texts in question are I Kings 7:23 and II Chronicles
4:2. Both verses have 20 words; although there are three textual variants between them.
The Hebrew text of both verses is reproduced below:
Both Hebrew verses describe the diameter of the
Molten Sea as being 10 cubits, with the circumference as 30 cubits. The Greek Septuagint
(LXX) translation supplies the same dimensions in II Chronicles 4:2 but differs from I
Kings 7:23 by describing the circumference as 33 cubits. Since p
to eight decimal places is 3.14159265, it appears that Scripture is in error. However, it
must be kept in mind that all values given for p are
approximations, since p is an irrational number. Furthermore,
decimal notation was not in use at the time these verses were written.
The links below are to my other pages that describe examples
using each of the three methods: ELS, Gematria and Numerics. They are accompanied by
another page where I present my comments about the matter. These pages are listed below:
Outside Links:
The interested and discerning reader of this page can click Here to access Jochen Katz's web site that deals with this and related topics. His site contains many useful and informative links pertaining to: Numerics, Gematria, ELS, and p.
This page has been accessed times.
July 27, 1999