Pi in the Bible
Does the Bible really say that pi = 3?
It seems to at 1 Kings 7:24 and the repetition at 2 Chronicles 4:3, where it describes a vessel used in the
Temple.
However, I think that there is a good explanation: The dimensions are given in WHOLE cubits!
First I will show mathematically how the dimensions can be given as 10 diameter and 30 circumference in
whole cubits (to the nearest cubit) and still be considered accurate.
Then I will attempt to justify my claim that the dimensions ARE given in whole cubits; and, in fact, may very
well have been given to the nearest five or ten cubits!
MATHEMATICAL DEMONSTRATION:
Using the maximum possible range of values for the diameter to be 10 to the nearest cubit:
9.5 cubits diameter * pi = 29.845+ cubits circumference
10.5 cubits diameter * pi = 32.986+ cubits circumference
Using the maximum possible range of values for the circumference to be 30 to the nearest cubit:
29.5 cubits circumference / pi = 9.390+ cubits diameter
30.5 cubits circumference / pi = 9.708+ cubits diameter
This means that a diameter in the range 9.5 cubits through 9.708+ cubits would result in a circumference of
29.845+ cubits through 30.5 cubits. These numbers are in the range of 10 cubits diameter and 30 cubits
circumference to the nearest whole cubit.
CLAIM JUSTIFICATION:
A Bible concordance provides the following statistics in the use of cubit measures in the Bible. The fractional
measures are a summary of actually specified "halves" and reasonable interpretations of such units as "fingers",
"hand-breadth", and "span". (It is possible that I miscounted by a few, but I am confident that, in total, these
statistics are accurate to within a few percent.)
It should be noted that the measures are all expressable by only one or two significant digits. There are no
fractional cubits specified above 6 1/2. Everything above 15 is expressed as a multiple of 5 except for 18, 28,
49, and 144.
The number 18 has a special significance in Jewish culture because it is written with the same letters that spell
the word "life", using a number notation similar to A=1, B=2, etc. (Do a web search for "Gematria" if you are
interested.) Then 28 can be taken to be 10 + 18.
The above explanation for the exceptions 18 and 28 could be enough justification because the value of pi
appears in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament).
However, the Apocrypha and New Testament 49 and
144 could possibly be explained as follows: The 49 can be taken to be the result of 7 lengths of a 7 cubit
measuring rod. Likewise, the 144 could be the result of measuring 12 lengths of a measuring rod 12 cubits in
length or, perhaps, a remnant of a base-12 number system (for instance WE still use "dozen" and gross").
Could the 49 be a remnant of a base-7 number system? Perhaps the number 7 has a mystical
significance (7-day week). Anyway, these numbers could be explained as being
"round" in a sense that has nothing to do with the base-10 number system.
Therefore, there is a marked tendency, in the Bible, to express lengths in round numbers. The larger the
number, the "rounder" it is expressed! Even if the diameter was exactly 10 cubits, the circumference would not
necessarily have been expressed as 31+, but might have been expressed as 30 (to the nearest 5 or 10)!
UNITS OF MEASUREMENT
Cubit: Length from fingertips to elbow
Foot: Length of a foot (3/4 cubit?).
Span: Length between tips of thumb and little finger on wide-spread hand (1/2 cubit?).
Hand-Breadth: Length across hand at widest point with fingers adjacent to each other (1/4 cubit?).
(I think this is the "hand" used by horse fanciers.)
Four Fingers: Similar to Hand-Breadth, but measured accross the fingers (1/5 cubit?).
