The serpent that Moses lifted up...what was it made of?

[Jig]

I am doing a study on the serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness. Was it made out of bronze, brass, or copper? Many translations differ.

I looked up nâchosheth and Nâchushtan from 2 Kings 18:4:
I have at least 12 different bible dictionaries and lexicons and they aren't in agreement.

Does anyone have some deeper insight into the original language?

 

[cyberlizard]

using the LXX, the corresponding word is 'chalkeos' and it means 'coppery'.


Steve

p.s. you could translate it either way though.... bronze or copper.

 

[Radagast]

According to Wikipedia, "The many references to 'brass' appearing throughout the King James Bible are thought to signify another bronze alloy, or copper, rather than the strict modern definition of 'brass'."

I believe that, given the period in history, bronze made from copper and tin is the most likely answer.

Most modern translations say "bronze" or "copper," since the Hebrew word can, I believe, mean either.

 

[ebia]

I would imagine the text is ambiguous. The Hebrew people weren't world leaders in metal working and the scribes who wrote the text would not have been metalurgists.

The best guess would not be based on the text itself, but on looking at what the Egyptians and others of the period used for making that sort of object under those sorts of conditions. What metals were available, what process might they have had available, and so forth.

 

[CarlosTheJackal]

Scott Hahn understands it to be bronze because according to the time and culture bronze was a symbol for victory, foreshadowing Christ’s victory over death after He has been lifted up on the cross.

God bless,