Ajay Kumar at 22:13, 29 August 2023

2023-08-29T22:13:00Z

New page

'''Almug'''
plural, '''Almuggim''', {{Lang-he|אַלְמֻגִּים|’almuggîm}})<ref>The plural is used in the [[Geneva Bible]]: {{bibleverse|1|Kings|10:11-12|GNV}}</ref> is a type of [[wood]] referred to in the [[Hebrew Bible]].

==Biblical reference==
According to the [[First Book of Kings]] (1 Kings 10:12), and the [[Second Book of Chronicles]] (2 Chronicles 2:8; 9:10–11), it was used, together with [[Cedrus libani|cedar]] and [[pine]], in the construction of the pillars of [[Solomon's Temple]] and the crafting of musical instruments for use in the temple. Some [[Bible translations into English|English translations]] say that it was used for the steps rather than the pillars<ref>See [[Holman Christian Standard Bible]] and [[New King James Version]]</ref> and biblical commentators [[Carl Friedrich Keil]] and [[Franz Delitzsch]] suggest that "we should have to think of steps with [[Baluster|bannisters]]" to make sense of the text.<ref>[http://biblehub.com/commentaries/kad/1_kings/10.htm Keil and Delitzsch OT Commentary on 1 Kings 10], accessed 10 October 2017</ref>

It is likely that the wood was brought by the ships of [[Tarshish]], sent from the [[Red Sea]] port of Ezion-Giber, from the distant country of [[Ophir]], and was very valuable.

==Botanical classification==
The [[botanical]] identity of algum is not known for certain, though some references suggest it may be [[juniper]] (''Juniperus''). Several species of juniper occur in the [[Middle East]] region, including ''[[Juniperus excelsa]]'' (Greek juniper), ''[[Juniperus foetidissima]]'' (stinking juniper), ''[[Juniperus phoenicea]]'' (Phoenician juniper), and ''[[Juniperus drupacea]]'' (Syrian juniper). It is likely that the woods of these species, which are all very similar in woodworking properties, would not have been distinguished from each other in the wood trade. The difficulty in identifying this wood is due in part to uncertainty over the location of the biblical city of Ophir. If Ophir is located in India, as some think, the wood likely would be red [[sandalwood]] or ''[[Pterocarpus santalinus]]''.<ref> {{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible |title=Plants of the Bible |page=1702|volume=2|publisher=Baker Book House|location=Grand Rapids, Michigan|date=1988|last=Elwell|first=Walter A.|author2=Beitzel, Barry J.}}</ref>

==References==
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Algum}}
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Books of Kings]]
[[Category:Wood]]
[[Category:Books of Chronicles]]
[[Category:Plants in the Bible]]
[[Category:Ophir]]
[[Category:Solomon's Temple]]

Algum - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 22:13, 29 August 2023