Hebrew word · H5777

עֹפֶרֶת

'oferet

lead

Lead, the metal. It appears in lists of metals (Num 31:22; Ezek 22:18, 20; 27:12) and as a heavy weight or lid (Zech 5:7–8). Lead was also used to fill engraved letters in rock (Job 19:24).

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

lead

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Exodus 15:10

Range of meaning

Lead, the metal. It appears in lists of metals (Num 31:22; Ezek 22:18, 20; 27:12) and as a heavy weight or lid (Zech 5:7–8). Lead was also used to fill engraved letters in rock (Job 19:24).

Against the English

'Lead' is exact. Modern readers rarely handle lead, so they can miss the point: it was the standard ancient example of something that drops and stays down.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lead was widely known in Bronze Age Egypt and the Levant, used for net-sinkers, plumb-weights, small figurines and cosmetics made from galena (lead ore). Anyone who fished or weighed goods knew how a lead weight behaves in water.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 15:10 כַּֽעוֹפֶ֔רֶת like <the> lead

    But You blew with Your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

    Here: Lead was the densest metal in everyday use, used for weights and net-sinkers. The comparison means they went straight down, fast, and never came back up.

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 31:22 הָעֹפָֽרֶת׃ the lead

    Only the gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead—

Job · 1

  1. Job 19:24 וְעֹפָ֑רֶת and lead

    by an iron stylus on lead, or chiseled in stone forever.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 6:29 עֹפָ֑רֶת lead

    The bellows blow fiercely, blasting away the lead with fire. The refining proceeds in vain, for the wicked are not purged.

Ezekiel · 3

  1. Ezekiel 22:18 וְעוֹפֶ֙רֶת֙ and lead

    “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside the furnace; they are but the dross of silver.

    Here: 'And lead.' Silver was mostly won from silver-bearing lead ore, and the lead was burned off in refining. This is the metal most closely tied to the silver-refining process.

  2. Ezekiel 22:20 וְעוֹפֶ֤רֶת and lead

    Just as one gathers silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin into the furnace to melt with a fiery blast, so I will gather you in My anger and wrath, leave you there, and melt you.

  3. Ezekiel 27:12 וְעוֹפֶ֔רֶת and lead

    Tarshish was your merchant because of your great wealth of goods; they exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead for your wares.

Zechariah · 2

  1. Zechariah 5:7 עֹפֶ֖רֶת lead

    And behold, the cover of lead was raised, and there was a woman sitting inside the basket.

  2. Zechariah 5:8 הָעֹפֶ֖רֶת <the> lead

    “This is Wickedness,” he said. And he shoved her down into the basket, pushing down the lead cover over its opening.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.